Dear Scouts,

What's happened? When I was a kid there were so many scouts. Climbing, jumping, tying knots and building shelter with nothing more than a piece of rope and a knife.

Scouts were awesome, so what happened?

Now scouting groups are struggling with membership numbers falling. Sure, there are a few other things out there that distract potential members, but I doubt the skills you learn at Saturday's soccer matches will help when you are lost in the Australian bush looking to survive. Even if you somehow had a soccer ball.

Ask any kid now to join two ropes together with a secure knot that can hold the weight of a person and they are likely to just look at you stupidly and ask, 'Why the hell wouldn't you just buy a longer rope?'

It's a valid argument, but not the point dammit. Scouts has to make a comeback otherwise when society crumbles we won't have a group of well-organised survivalists building a new society from ferns and palm leaves. We will have some sort of Lord of the Flies or Mad Max scene where anarchy will reign.

So what can you do? Clean house. Get rid of the constant fundraising. Sausage sizzles, cent auctions, etc etc. Do one major fundraise a year and that's it. And make it big. so you can afford to also get a gardener in every few weeks and eliminate the working bees.

What this does is gets rid of all the terrible jobs no one wants to do. Parents will actively get their kids into scouts if mum and dad know they won't have to lift a finger. That's smart. Let's see the soccer canteen roster compete with that.

Kind Regards,

Troy Kippen