Brownsea Island Scout camp

Brownsea Island Scout camp
Robert Baden-Powell with future Scouts on Brownsea Island
Owner	National Trust
Location	Poole Harbour
Country	England
Coordinates	50°41′18″N 1°58′45″W / 50.68833°N 1.97917°W / 50.68833; -1.97917
Founded	1 August 1907 (1907-08-01)
Founder	Robert Baden-Powell
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The Brownsea Island Scout camp was the site of a boys' camping event on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, southern England, organised by Lieutenant-General Baden-Powell to test his ideas for the book Scouting for Boys. Boys from different social backgrounds participated from 1 to 8 August 1907 in activities around camping, observation, woodcraft, chivalry, lifesaving and patriotism. The event is regarded as the origin of the worldwide Scout movement.

Up to the early 1930s, Boy Scouts continued to camp on Brownsea Island. In 1963, a formal 50-acre (20 ha) Scout campsite was opened by Olave Baden-Powell when the island became a nature conservation area owned by the National Trust. In 1973, a Scout Jamboree with six hundred Scouts was held on the island.

The worldwide centenary of Scouting took place at the Brownsea Island Scout camp, celebrated on 1 August 2007, the 100th anniversary of the start of the first encampment. Activities by The Scout Association at the campsite included four Scout camps and a Sunrise Ceremony.