Many children may be attached to their phones and devices but one Scout group is ensuring young people still love getting out into nature.
The 78th Belfast Scout group was formed in 1929 and has been in its current location on the Antrim Road for the past 58 years.
Membership is now growing once again due to the pandemic, as more parents are hoping their children will be able to make connections with others, and build skills after being stuck at home.
With around 20 current members at their Monday night cub sessions, and the same amount at their Thursday night scout sessions, the team of leaders at 78th Belfast are hoping the group can continue into the future.
Scout Leader Ronan Clancy has been involved since he joined as a cub 52 years ago and has been a leader for around 40 years.
He told Belfast Live that he still loves being part of the team here. Ronan said: "I've always enjoyed camping and being outside. I enjoyed it when I was in the scouts, and it continued after that.
"A big aspect of scouts is the people you meet - the kids, the other leaders - you make great friendships over the years as it goes on.
"We've just kept on going throughout the years. Some years we have lots of members, other years it dips down. In 1998, we were down to four Cubs and four Scouts and were close to closing down. We decided to give it another six months, and we're still here 24 years later. Before covid, our numbers were well down, but now they've went right back up in both the Cubs and Scouts."
Adam McCambridge is an Assistant Section Leader in Cubs and also the District Youth Commissioner for North Belfast. The 20-year-old has been involved since he joined Beavers when he was six-years-old.
He said: "I started in Beavers when I was six, and I'm 20 now, so I've been here for 14 years. I started as a young leader when I was in Scouts, and it's around six years I've been doing it now. I would come down on a Monday for my Duke of Ed, working as a leader, and I wasn't allowed to leave - I'm still here now!
"I love being here, and working with the Cubs and Scouts. I love being part of it all. When I was a Cub, I was always pushing to do a wee bit more, and now I can. It's given me a really great opportunity to work on my skills while still getting outside in nature a lot.
"You get so many skills and opportunities here you maybe wouldn't get from school, it's a totally different setting. It's a lot of people you wouldn't meet otherwise.
"A lot of my friends I met through Scouts, and I'm still friends with them now because I got to see them every Monday at Cubs, or a Thursday at Scouts through the years."
During lockdown, 78th Belfast were able to continue their weekly sessions virtually, which they said had a great turnout of members coming back every week.
One aspect both Adam and Ronan agree the Cubs and Scouts love is the camping. During summer, they would go on regular expeditions, with youngsters already asking when they can go on their next camping trip.
On these trips, they regularly notice how quickly the kids are able to be creative and come up with their own fun activities away from screens.
Ronan said: "During the summer months, we're never really in the hall. We're camping, we're up the Cavehill. We're quite a traditional scout group, we still use open fires, we don't use gas. We have big Icelandic tents, big heavy heavy green things. It is a different experience for them when they get out.
"One of the things I find is when you bring them away on camp, they bring their mobiles with them, forgetting they have no electricity to charge them. When they don't have the electronics, the kids make up their own things to do.
"At camp we always have a rest hour after lunch, an hour's free time where they can do whatever they want. They always find things to do among themselves."
"They all love camping. You wouldn't think it when they're maybe stuck on their video games all day at home," Adam added.
One of their leaders in particular, Stephen Hoskins – but more regularly known by his nickname Baloo – has been taking the Cub groups for 50 years and is well-known in the scouting community.
Ronan added: "Baloo would take the Cubs, and he's been with us as a leader for 50 years this year. He's been at every camp, every jamboree, every district event. He's just always around to help everybody. And he's such a size you couldn't miss him, too."
As society eases out of the pandemic, membership at 78th Belfast is once again picking up after a slight dip. The leaders pin this down to the structured programme the kids work towards to achieve badges and awards, which brings a great sense of achievement.
"It covers everything from local knowledge to first aid, to camping and hiking," Ronan continued.
"There's a whole range of things they can do depending on what skills they have. The programme is adaptable to whatever they're able to achieve, the whole idea is that you want them to feel like they've achieved something by the end of it, which they all do."
Adam said it's "brilliant" to see their group membership climbing once again.
He added: "For the past few years, they've been dipping a bit and got quite low. But covid really kick-started the growth, after kids were stuck in for so long, parents were quite keen to get them involved."
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