|Provisional Summer Camp programs are sometimes called "Brownsea Island" programs.|
After returning as a military hero from service in Africa, Robert Baden-Powell discovered that English boys were reading the manual on stalking and survival in the wilderness he had written for British soldiers. He rewrote the manual as a nonmilitary nature skill book and called it Scouting for Boys. To test his ideas, Baden-Powell brought together 22 boys to camp at Brownsea Island, off the coast of England. This historic campout was a success and resulted in the advent of Scouting.
The Brownsea Island Scout camp was a boys camping event on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, southern England, organized by Lieutenant-General Baden-Powell to test his ideas for the book Scouting for Boys. Twenty boys from different social backgrounds participated from August 1 to August 8, 1907 in activities around camping, observation, woodcraft, chivalry, lifesaving and patriotism. Recognized as the world's first Scout camp, the event is regarded as the real origin of the worldwide Scout movement.
Today, Scouts still enjoy Brownsea Island. The 1973 and 2007 World Jamborees were held on Brownsea Island.
Provisional Summer Camp
The original Brownsea Island summer camp was comprised of boys who were not from the same troop (there were no troops yet). In the spirit of this tradition local councils are to provide a Provisional Camping option for boys who are not able to attend summer camp with their troop. Provisional Summer Camp programs are sometimes called "Brownsea Island" programs.