Beavers

In 1963, The Little Brothers, a programme for boys who were too young to be Wolf Cubs was set up in Northern Ireland by the 1st Dromore Scout Group. It spread to Belfast with seven groups two years later. As the scheme expanded throughout the rest of the province, it was given the name of Beavers in 1966, having been a name considered by Robert Baden-Powell when The Boy Scouts Association created its Wolf Cubs. A Canadian Beaver programme was designed and tested in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1971 by Harry McCartney, Alan Jones, and Gordon Hanna. and in 1972 it was expanded across the Scouts Canada organisation. It was formally made a programme of Scouts Canada in 1974. This was followed by the…

The Scout Association formally recognised Beavers in 1986, but there had been a fully-fledged Beaver section in Northern Ireland since 1966, plus informal colonies in other parts of the UK for many years before 1986. The programme is run for 5¾ to 8-year-olds and precedes Cubs. The Beavers section currently makes up the largest proportion of participants within The Scout Association in the United Kingdom, with many colonies having waiting lists, some of which may have several times as many waiting as there are actual members. The uniform is a turquoise sweatshirt or T-shirt, with the group colours for the neckerchief. The motto, shared with the rest of the UK Scout Association sections, is…