Kate Cleans (and Guts) Fish with Scouts

By Simon Perry

07/12/2012 at 01:30 PM EDT

The Duchess of Cambridge got her hands dirty earlier this week – by helping some young scouts learn how to gut fish.

Scouts volunteer Kate, 30, took the lead and helped to host an afternoon and evening of activities – plus a barbecue on the beach – near her home in North Wales on Wednesday.

The youngsters, aged from about 8 years old, went crabbing and fishing and were taught how to clean (a.k.a. gut) a fish so that it's ready to eat.

Then, the duchess also handed out sausages and burgers from the barbecue.

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"She helped organize an outdoor activities evening for the local scouts on the beach," a spokesman tells PEOPLE.

Kate has been quietly working with the local team of scouts for several months, often volunteering one evening a week when she is home in Angelsey.

It's understood that this was one of several evenings organized by the volunteer members throughout the year.

A Scouts spokesperson tells PEOPLE, "It's traditional at the end of term that scout groups celebrate the scouting year and look forward to the next one. Without volunteers like the duchess, events like this could not take place."

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