A group of volunteers arrived at Scouts Australia’s block of land in Tibbuc ready to put the finishing touches on some firewood, only to find it missing.
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The wood was to be sold as a fundraiser for the Gloucester Scouts Group.
A few weeks ago the NSW Rural Fire Service went to the property, which borders the Gloryvale Reserve, and cut up several dead trees, using the opportunity to work on chainsawing skills.
Family members of the Gloucester Scout Group and groups from the Newcastle region made arrangements for a working bee on Sunday, July 1 to chop up the wood into usable pieces in order to sell it, only to discover the pile of wood had disappeared.
“It’s disappointing,” Gloucester group leader, Heather Eggins said.
“The money we would have raised could have gone toward getting us equipment. We’ve only been going for six months and we don’t have anything.”
The Gloucester group reformed in January after a 20 year hiatus and currently has around 35 members ranging in age from six to 14 years.
One of the projects the new group is working on is getting the campground on the Tibbuc property back up and running. It hasn’t been used for many years but the group is cleaning it up.
“We know that we won’t be able to recover the wood,” Heather said. “But we want the community to know that it’s private land.”
Even though it borders the public reserve, the property has a gateway opening which the group placed tape across with a private property sign. They are hoping to get a gate, however they need funds in order to buy one.
The Gloucester Scout group will have its first campout on the property over the school holidays. Not only will they be learning bush craft skills but they’ll be continuing to clean up the land.
“We are trying to revitalise it for all the scouts to use,” Heather said.
Other fundraising activities for the Gloucester group at the moment includes a monthly barbecue at the Gloucester Woolworths.
For information about getting involved with the Gloucester Scouts, contact Heather on 0419 179 274.