Scout leader from Flitwick has been named one of 500 Coronation Champions

A scout leader who has been volunteering for more than 45 years has been named as one of 500 Coronation Champions.

Nicky Taylor has been invited to the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle on May 7 and will receive a pin badge and a certificate signed by both King Charles and Queen Camilla.

Nicky said, “I volunteer because I get to work with other amazing adults who work tirelessly to provide a variety of exciting, fun activities. Offering ‘first time experiences’ such as helping a beaver scout to toast a marshmallow over an open fire, encouraging a cub scout to get to the top of a climbing wall, or helping a scout steer a twelve-berth narrow boat for the first time is all part of nurturing a ‘can do’ attitude for the young people.”

Not only is Nicky involved in running a beaver colony – for youngsters aged six to eight, and a cub those aged eight to 10, but she is also deputy group scout Leader and manages the waiting list for the scout group.

She was also actively involved in helping to open the first two squirrel dreys for boys and girls aged four and five in the county.

Nicky is a qualified archery instructor and holds a permit for narrow boating. She has supervised many archery sessions at camps and has taken several scouts narrow boating for a weekend on the Grand Union canal and has also helped to plan and run camps and sleepovers; which have included family camps that over 250 adults, young people and children attended.

Nicky was also a foster carer for several years and looked after many children aged from two to 16, including a group of four children. She “retired” as a foster carer last year and now spends some of her “spare” time as a volunteer at The Stables in Milton Keynes.