Scouts from B.C., Canada and elsewhere in the world are descending on Camp Barnard, northwest of Sooke, today for Scouts Canada’s Pacific Jamboree.
About 1,700 Scouts, ages 11 to 14, will be at the 250-acre facility, along with 672 adult supervisors for the week-long event.
The jamboree kicks off this morning with an opening ceremony with Scouts Canada executive commissioner and CEO Liam Burns and Chief Scout Les Stroud, known for his television series Survivorman.
Camp Barnard previously hosted the annual Pacific Jamboree in 2015 and 2019.
Scouts will take part in a variety of activities, including canoeing around Young Lake and traversing an obstacle course built among the trees, along with a variety of scientific, technological, engineering and mathematical activities.
They will also explore the Sooke and Victoria areas and take part in an overnight expedition on the Juan de Fuca Trail, organizers said.
“Camp Barnard has transformed into a bustling city complete with all the amenities you would expect for a town of nearly 3,000,” said a statement from the Pacific Jamboree.
The camp is divided into four subcamps and a town centre.
Each camp is themed around world regions including the Arctic, Africa’s savannas, the bottom of the ocean at Mariana Trench and the Amazon rainforest. The town centre includes a gift shop, an area to trade badges and a snack bar.
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