How wonderful is this?
This weekend, 1400 Scouts from around Australia arrive in the national capital to camp in arguably Canberra's best location - the grounds of Government House in Yarralumla.
The once-in-a-lifetime experience has been initiated by the Governor-General David Hurley, as he prepares to finish his term at Government House later this year, in discussions with Scouts Australia.
It's part of the overall desire of Mr Hurley for Government House and its beautiful grounds to be opened up more often to the general public.
(Open days, monthly picnics and walking tours have also been part of that plan.)
The scouts start arriving on Saturday and Sunday, with the opening ceremony on Sunday night.
Mr Hurley, who is also the Chief Scout of Scouts Australia, has established the inaugural camp to allow scouts to "immerse themselves in team-building activities and forge lifelong friendships with fellow members from all over the country".
By hosting this camp, Government House underscores its commitment to "supporting youth development initiatives and nurturing the future leaders of Australia".
The camp is officially on from Sunday until Friday.
The program incorporates a mix of onsite, offsite and evening activities.
Offsite activities will be held around Canberra, including ropes courses, abseiling, canoeing, mountain biking and ice skating. And, it seems, scouting is good for the soul.
Research conducted by Scouts Australia in collaboration with Resilient Youth Australia has highlighted the "profound positive impact of scouting on participants' lives, revealing that scouts have an overall better life satisfaction than their non-scouting peers"
Not only that, the longer they stay in scouts, the more resilient they are likely to become. In particular, scouts have a healthier mental state than non-scouts (62.1 per cent v 49.1 per cent) and are more likely to feel good about themselves (81.8 per cent v 70 per cent).
