COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
SCOUTS DISCOVER SURVEYING IN THE FIELD
MAY 25
Plotting new paths: Scouts Discover Surveying in the Field
Following the success of their visit to Malcolm Hughes’ Warrington office last year, local Scouts (1st Davenham) had the opportunity to get hands-on with the tools of the trade, this time on their home turf of their own piece of woodland.
Managing Director Stuart Gilling, whose professional remit includes a focus on youth engagement, joined the group during a regular evening meeting at their own site, Peckmill Scout Wood. Equipped with surveying instruments, hard hats and high-vis gear, Stuart delivered a dynamic, field based session that brought geospatial science to life.
Interactive Activity
The field activity was designed to give Scouts a deeper understanding of land surveying while aligning with the organisation’s core values of Integrity, Respect, Care, Belief, and Cooperation. Cooperation in particular was put to the test, as small teams worked together to produce basic building layouts using real surveying tools and techniques. All while applying practical maths, including the ever challenging Pythagoras’ theorem. They were setting out the new building using a combination of GNSS, and tape and offset whilst learning about the practical application of trigonometric principals as taught in school.
Scout Leader Phil Jones’ feedback confirmed the educational value:
“Many may not have any knowledge of surveying as a job. Most looked puzzled at the concept of Pythagoras too! But through this session, they gained career awareness, put maths into practice, and got hands on with tools, that’s a great gain for our Scouts.”
The visit also helped the group visualise their future goals. In 2019, 1st Davenham Scouts purchased Peckmill Wood, an idyllic meadow and woodland on the outskirts of Davenham, Cheshire with the intention of building a new Scout Hall. Since then they have been leaning into all manner of fundraising activities.
With ongoing fundraising for a new Scout hall at Peckmill Scout Wood, measuring the proposed site with professional support made their dream more tangible. One Scout commented:
“It was amazing, once we’d measured the space the new hall will fill, I could imagine it a bit more.”
This practical session sparked visible enthusiasm and curiosity. For Scout Leader and parent, it also had a personal impact:
“My son was really engaged (not a given!). He came home and told his mum all about it – impressive compared to the standard grunt of ‘it was alright’. He’ll certainly consider surveying in the future… if premiership football doesn’t work out!
One memorable highlight was Josh, one of the youngest Scouts, stepping into the role of “lead surveyor,” donning the Malcolm Hughes gear with pride. “At the end of the session, we named him top surveyor, he was beaming ear to ear.”
At Malcolm Hughes, we believe that sparking curiosity can be the first step toward building a career and that genuine, hands-on experiences can leave a lasting mark. That’s why we were proud to see how well received the session was, not just by the Scouts themselves but by their families too. The positive feedback that followed from parents, Scouts, and leaders alike reinforces our belief that industry has a vital role to play in opening doors for young people. Sessions like this are more than just educational they’re a chance to help young minds connect the dots between what they’re learning in school and the opportunities that lie ahead. And if even one Scout walks away seeing surveying as a possibility for their future, we consider that a meaningful success.
As Scout leader Phil Jones says:
“You never know… we may have a full troop of high-vis wearing, clipboard-toting surveyors to be!…With enough participation, perhaps Scouts could even introduce a surveying badge…” ?
For the team at Malcolm Hughes, experiences like this are more than community outreach they are an investment in the next generation of STEM talent. By bringing the tools and tasks of surveying into accessible, youth friendly environments, they’re not only breaking down barriers to understanding, they’re building new pathways.
Interested in where a career in surveying can lead? Visit our Careers page to discover opportunities and pathways into the industry. Or contact us to organise a session for your youth group.
