Camp Byng has been transformed this week with 1,750 Scouts from all over Canada descending on the 84-hectare property in Roberts Creek.
They came with 600 leaders and 700 volunteers who created a self-sufficient town complete with an Internet café, a small hospital and a bank nestled within the forest.
"Basically we have a town of about 3,200 here," said Randy Maze, media contact at the camp.
The masses came to the Coast to take part in Pacific Jamboree 2011, a special Scouting get together that happens once every four years.
However, the planning for this jamboree has been happening for quite some time.
"We started planning this camp about two and a half years ago," Maze said.
The lengthy preparation time doesn't seem long enough when you enter the camp and see the level of activity.
Scouts between the ages of 11 and 13 were everywhere hurrying about loading gear onto trucks, mustering for hikes or setting off on one of 16 different activities planned on and off camp property.
Scouts were going mountain biking, wall climbing, hiking and kayaking, exploring astronomy, learning how to sharpen a knife or use a ham radio, making jewellery, lanterns or leather keepsakes, trying their hand at woodworking or geocaching and going on nature walks, overnight trips to Camp Burley, canoe trips to Gambier Island or a day sail onboard a tall ship.
Scouts could sign up for any activity they were interested in once they arrived, making scheduling that much more challenging.
"There is a lot of activity at headquarters with scheduling and changes, but we work hard to make it all work," Maze said.
To add to the difficulty, some of the activities were added at the last minute, such as the tall ship sailing experience.
"The HMCS Oriole came from Maritime Forces Pacific. We set it up, but we didn't know it was coming. We requested the admiral to make the ship available, and we just found out we could use it," Maze said.
This year's jamboree theme is "Lord of the Rings - Quest for the Rings" and the theme has been embraced by the Scouts who have put a lot of imagination into decorating their sub-camps called Gondor, Ent, Avalon, New Fouglith and Lothlorien.
There are makeshift castles erected and masks hanging in trees, a mural of the shire and an entrance to Gollum's cave set up by the Scouts.
There is so much going on at the camp it even warrants its own daily newspaper. The Shire News publishes 3,500 copies daily to keep Scouts informed and offers a unique keepsake from the experience. The camp also has a daily newscast on YouTube at www.youtube.com.theshirenews.
Between taking part in activities, decorating sub-camps and trying to find Gollum, who has apparently escaped from Mordor, Scouts were kept busy trading badges, playing games and making friends.
You might think it's difficult to keep a town of 1,750 kids between the ages of 11 and 13 running smoothly, but Maze said it works out because all the kids are following the same code.
"A Scout is always trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent," one child proudly recited when Maze asked what the code was.
"If you have high expectations, the kids will live up to them," Maze added.
He sees the jamboree as a "vehicle of peace," bringing kids from different backgrounds and abilities together to live and play and learn.
While the Scouts are busy having fun, they're also learning new skills and finding they're able to do things they may not have thought possible.
According to Maze, that's the point of the Scouting movement.
"Our job is actually to enable the youth," he said.
One youth being honoured this year is Owen Andrews who is with the 2nd First Victoria Cub Scout pack. He was the winner of a province-wide crest design competition. His winning badge features B.C. Parks' mascot Jerry the Moose set against a backdrop of mountains, sky and a green field.
To receive the commemorative crest, Scouts needed to participate in kayaking, sailing or canoeing while at the jamboree. They also have to learn about Porpoise Bay Provincial Park and visit the B.C. Parks tent set up at Camp Byng.
The Scouts are serious about their badges, and many were earned at this year's jamboree. Scouts earn a badge for completing an activity or for simply doing a good deed.
Maze said that staff members were on the look out for Scouts doing the right thing, and they were rewarded with either a special badge or a coupon for a free ice cream.
If you want to have a look at all the exciting things going on at Camp Byng, you can visit the site between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. today (Friday). Visitors must check in at the reception centre located behind the front gate at Camp Byng, where they will be issued a visitor I.D. tag and a map.
Maze notes it's important to wear good footwear if you plan to take a tour.
"We put a pedometer on one of the Scouts just to see how many steps the average Scout takes in a day, and it read 38,000," he noted.
The camp runs until tomorrow (July 16) when Scouts will pack up and return home onboard one of the extra vessels B.C. Ferries is putting on route that day to accommodate them.
