The Scouts Heritage Service

Client: The Scouts Heritage Service

Scope: Scenic

The Scout Association brief was for Unusual Projects to design, build and install an external, unsupervised replica tree stump which acts as a base for a bronze buffalo sculpture gifted to Robert Baden-Powell by the Boy Scouts of America in 1926.

We constructed a metal armature with built in fixing points for the buffalo sculpture and the concrete base, this was then laid over with a metal reinforcement mesh and built up a thickness in cement. A final coat of cement is then sculpted on top of this to create the realistic tree finish and was then finished with a scenic paint finish and sealed for longevity.

The Bronze Buffalo statue is an important and popular landmark at Gilwell Park.  In 2019 a team of international Scouts fundraised to create a better plinth on which to display it.  We commissioned Unusual Projects to create a plinth which would honour the original tree trunk plinth used in 1926 but would be long lasting and low maintenance.  The solution they’ve created is fantastic and fits brilliantly into the Park’s historic natural landscape.  The development and delivery process has been great and we are delighted with the results and can’t wait to share them with our international funders and Scouts visiting the site. 

– Caroline Pantling, Head of Heritage Services ,The Scouts