11th Canadian Scout Jamboree - Fort Amherst

Fort Amherst

Fort Amherst (the Venturer subcamp) had an attendance of 974 Venturers/Advisors and was run by a staff of 26 Rovers. It was the only subcamp that was 'for youth, by youth'. The Fort Amherst subcamp was named after the location of CJ'89 which was held at Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst National Historic Site of Canada in Prince Edward Island.

Venturer registration for CJ07 was greater than anticipated. Fort Amherst's location was moved further up the hill. The south end of the Subcamp was nicknamed "Heart Attack Hill" by the campers. This hill was extremely steep, and contained many large rocks, stumps and tree roots, making the climb up and down very dangerous, especially at night. Sudo rope handrails and solar garden lights were installed to make the climb easier.

A side effect of the greater than anticipated registration was not being able to clear enough campsites in time. This led to the occupation of the VIP lot (field) by numerous Venturer Companies. Staff attempted to call this area Lower Fort Amherst but the campers preferred to be called Venturers In Parking lot.

The subcamp hosted many events for the Venturers, including dances, Hockey Night at the Jamboree, an open stage night, life-sized board games, and a movie night, which although it was planned to last all night, ended at 2:30am when they ran out of gas for the generator. The movies shown were Strange Brew, Talladega Nights, and half of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was reported that the movies could be heard up to two kilometers away in the staff parking lot.

During the subcamp's sunrise ceremony the Fort Amherst Rover Crew was formed. The crew is already planning bi-annual reunion camps.

The Quebec Council is working on naming one of the newly created trails "Rover Way". The Fort Amherst Gateway is to remain in place to honor those Rovers & Venturers who helped create what is to become one of the better campsites of the new Tamracouta Scout Reserve.