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Exploring your passion projects

It’s no secret that Girlguiding volunteers are busy people - managing jobs, families and hectic schedules alongside guiding committments, which can also be huge!

Our volunteers do amazing things and inspire girls to try all sorts of new experiences. It’s no surprise that everyone has a lot of interesting hobbies and talents. And we want to hear all about them.

Today we’re meeting Lisa Bouskill, who has an impressive collection of tents.

Hi Lisa, tell us about yourself! What do you do in Girlguiding, and how long have you been a volunteer?

I’ve been a volunteer with Girlguiding for almost 29 years. I’m currently an assistant leader with Guides and Rangers and I’m a unit helper with Rainbows and Brownies. I’m also a district commissioner, county PR and communications adviser, Midlands region’s assistant adviser for member growth and retention and a trainer.

If you want all my roles then I’m also a Leadership qualification mentor and ID verifier. Oh, and I’m also a member of the Trefoil Guild! Previously I’ve been a county DofE adviser (I even got to meet HRH Prince Phillip in this role) and county music and singing adviser.

I really am living my dream now in that I also work for Girlguiding, as well as volunteering. I’m currently the project coordinator for the outreach part of Girlguiding’s Generation Green project.

I’ve been supporting around 60 locally-owned guiding campsites and activity centres across the Midlands, North East England and North West England regions to encourage at least 2,000 young people aged 7-26 years old to camp overnight this year. I totally love the Night under the stars badge that we released earlier this year. It’s great to know that lots of youngsters have already had adventures camping and are now super proud to have this badge as a reminder.

What do you like about volunteering for Girlguiding?

Guiding is my way of life. I initially volunteered to help at Scouts but I didn’t understand the off-side rule in football. So I skipped over to the local Guide unit instead. I’ve met my best friends whilst I’ve been an adult volunteer in guiding and I’d go to the end of the earth for them, just like they would for me.

How and why did you start collecting tents?

I remember as a child avidly looking through the ‘Survival Aids’ catalogue and circling everything that I wanted to buy if I had enough money… I imagine that tents featured there. Then as a student at university I helped at a local Guide unit before starting a Ranger unit when our Guides simply wouldn’t leave. This unit started with just a few girls so we couldn’t afford to buy tents from unit funds. Being a cash-strapped student, I went to an end of season sale and bought two tents – one for Rangers and one for me and the other leader. I think that’s where it all started… Those two tents were bargains, so every year I went to the same end of season sale and would buy another tent or two! For my PhD, I used to test outdoor gear for the likes of Berghaus, Decathlon and Mountain Hardware So that kept my interest in tents and outdoor gear very much alive!

How many tents do you have?

I’d love to be able to count my tents but with a house move imminent I’ve already put most of them into storage. From memory I think that the tents I have can sleep 107 people!

I did have more, but I donated about six tents to the school that I used to work at when they were short of tents for DofE. Even my dogs have a dog bed that is in the shape of a frame tent… sadly that cost more than both of my first two tents put together!

What do you use them for?

I find that I mostly lend my tents to other people for guiding events. My current Ranger unit gets spoiled at winter camp - I have some four-season tents which they use. Some leaders think that I am taking a risk letting my Rangers use my expensive tents, but they are seasoned campers and know how to care for them. The only time that I sleep in a tent these days is on our annual summer camp with Guides and Rangers. I must confess though that I don’t very often use my own tents as I am usually sharing with leaders from the other units who we camp with – at least I don’t have to dry the flysheet when we get home!

For family holidays we have a motorhome these days rather than using a tent. I must admit that I do like the idea of having a trailer tent though but daren’t even mention this to my other half.

How do you look after them?

When I’m not moving house, my tents are all stored in a dry garage connected to my house (so it’s never really cold in there). With a full run of industrial racking down one side of the garage, I can store the tents without risk of them being damaged from anything heavy being put on top of them. I must admit that my two best tents (ok so they’re my favourites) used to live in my spare bedroom until recently; I thought they deserved to be stored properly indoors. I always make sure that tents are put away dry and are folded to avoid any damage to windows. Before using any that haven’t been put up in the last couple of years, I am mindful to set them up in my garden and re-proof them ahead of whenever they’re needed.

Have you got a passion project or unusual hobby that you'd like to share? Share them with us by emailing yourvoice@girlguiding.org.uk.

What do you look for in a new tent? Are there any that you’re still looking to add to your collection?

Regardless of what I’m going to be using the tent for, the hydrostatic head of its flysheet is always my first point of interest. This is just a way of measuring how waterproof the fabric is. Anything below 3000mm is no good for me. This basically means that you can stand 3000mm of water on top of the fabric before it allows water to pass through. I always like to make sure that any tent I buy has a small porch area so that rain can’t run into the sleeping area when I get in and out. A porch area is also essential for my boots so that they aren’t in the sleeping area. Some of my friends would probably recommend putting them at the opposite end of our camping pitch! I have three styles of tent that I still want to add to my collection; a bell tent, a roof tent and an air tent. Two of my guiding pals have bell tents for their Guide unit and I’m always secretly a bit envious when I see their camping pictures.

It goes without saying that, given my previous history of testing tents and outdoor gear, I’m interested in buying an air tent – one that inflates! However, I’ve seen several air tents fail in bad weather, so I’m not convinced that the science behind them is fully up to speed yet. I’m happy to wait before spending more money on tents!. My better half has also promised to buy me a tent when we have moved house – little do they know that I have my eye on one that costs £900! That’s a long way from my early days of buying cheap tents at end of season sales.

Do you have any recommendations for things our volunteers should think about when choosing a tent?

Remember, if you choose your tents well, then you’ll have a better night’s sleep whilst camping. You won’t be too worried about the tent leaking if it rains, or deforming and breaking poles if it becomes windy.

My best recommendations are:

Hydrostatic head >3000mm on flysheet and use a footprint under the groundsheet too.
Choose the tent based on what you will use it for – a giant tent for a couple of people in the winter will be very cold while a short height tent (one that you can’t stand up in) for a family camp will result in grumpiness before the end of the holiday.
Tunnel tents and dome tents, in my opinion, often struggle to stay up when it is windy and the UK can be VERY windy.
Choose a tent with a porch area so that rain cannot flow into your sleeping area when you’re getting into the tent or out of it.
Finally, as my own Guide leader used to say: “don’t touch the sides”, “never wear shoes inside a tent” and “don’t ever stand on the canvas while you’re putting up a tent or taking it down”.

Have you got a successful side project or unusual hobby that you'd like to share?

We want to hear about your passions and pastimes. So if you've got a beehive in your back garden or a love of creative crafts, if you adore astronomy or spend your spare time with a sewing machine, we want to talk to you! Share your passion projects with us by emailing yourvoice@girlguiding.org.uk.

If you’ve been inspired to update your tent, Girlguiding members can get an exclusive discount on tents and outdoor gear through our partnership with GO Outdoors!

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