1.28 Camping Skills Part 2
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Gathering Activity (in their circles)
- Attendance and dues
- Girls were to bring bedrolls to the meeting - pull them apart for inspection and then put them back together.
Opening
- Circle Songs
- Brownie Song
Discussion - Lost at Camp
- Hug a tree and survive –
- Tell an adult where you are going
- Carry an orange garbage bag and a whistle with you. You can cut a face hole in the garbage bag and put it over your body to keep warm. The whistle can be used to help searchers find you.
- Once you know you are lost, HUG A TREE and STAY PUT. Do not wander off or try to find your way back.
- Make yourself big by waving a T-shirt or brightly coloured object when helicopters fly over, or make a big X on the ground with sticks, rocks, or other objects you find.
- Lying down flat can make you more visible from the air.
- The Hug a Tree program is offered through local RCMP and SAR groups.
Game
Edible Campfires
- Prepare in advance a baggie of "treats" for each girl.
- napkin (clear ground)
- mini Ritz crackers (cirlce rocks)
- pieces of Shreddies cereal (firestarter)
- hickory sticks (kindling)
- pretzels (small pieces of wood)
- cheezies (bigger logs)
- marshmallows (air)
- blue whale candy or juice (water)
- licorice pieces or other red candy (fire)
- gummy people or bears (people to watch)
- Explain how to build the campfire, step by step.
- each girl should unfold her napkin and lay it nice and smooth to represent the clearing that has to be done in an area to make it safe to build a fire. Discuss safe places to build fires.
- Next make a fire ring of mini Ritz crackers. Again talk about safety and how this will keep the fire from drifting to nearby grasses or trees.
- Next you make three piles of firewood: hickory sticks for the kindling, pretzels for the small logs and cheezies for the large logs.
- Before you lay the fire you need a blue whale or cup of juice to represent the fire fighting equipment that should be on hand.
- Now you are ready to lay your fire:
- Lay an A or V of smaller logs (pretzels) after you decide what direction the wind is blowing.
- Lay your tinder (hickory sticks) in a teepee or lean-to fashion in the corner of the A or V.
- Add your firestarter (crushed Shreddies) to the base of the tinder - explain how this burns very quickly and helps get the fire started.
- Before you can light the fire, you need to make sure there is enough air between all of your fuel. Add a marshmallow to represent the air that must be able to flow around everything.
- Light your fire and add a red candy on top.
- When the fire has been started, add some more kindling (hickory sticks) to really get the flames to burn higher. Watch as the flames burn higher (add more red candy)
- Next, add the fuel on top of the fire - these are the larger logs (cheezies) which will burn for a long time.
- Never walk away from a fire. You must have people near the fire at all times to supervise (place gummy people or bears around the fire).
- To extinguish the fire, let it die down (eat parts of the campfire). You can continue to let the fire die down naturally (slowly eating the parts of the edible campfire), or you can extinguish it faster by sprinkling water onto the campfire (do not pour water on, as it can quickly turn to steam and burn you!), spread the coals out then sprinkle again. Continue spreading coals and sprinkling on water until there is no heat coming from the coals.
- Leave no trace of your fire. (make sure napkins, cups, baggies and left-over snacks are cleared away into the trash)
- After the girls have cleared away all of their edible fire, you may give them a handout to remind them of all the parts of a campfire.
Discussion - Poison Plants, Insects, Weather
- Poison Plants
- Some plants can cause a very serious and itchy rash than can last for days. Poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac are three such plants that you may encounter, so make sure you familiarize yourself with what they look like.
- “Leaves of three, let it be.” Poison ivy is what you are most likely to encounter in the Okanagan. It has three leaflets, which are often shiny and change colour throughout the year, turning red in the autumn. If you bump, tear, brush up against, or walk through poison ivy, the leaves transfer an oil called urushiol (yoo-roo-shee-ol) which causes a rash. You can get the rash by touching anything that has come into contact with the oil, such as shoes, clothing, your dog, etc. One person can transfer it to another. (note: bring pictures of Poison Ivy to the meeting)
- Prevention – wear long sleeves and plants. Wash the oil off right away by showering. Do not bathe, as this can cause the oil to transfer to other parts of your body.
- Insects
- There are a number of bugs that can bite you while camping – bees, wasps, flies, spiders, mosquitoes, ticks. If you are bitten, get an adult to help. They can remove any stingers. Always get an adult to help you remove ticks. They will use tweezers and grasp it as close to your skin as possible so that the entire tick is removed. Ice packs, antihistamines and ibuprofen can help alleviate the itching and pain associated with insect bites, but ALWAYS ask and adult before doing anything or taking any medication.
- Insect bites can be prevented. When hiking, camping or picnicking, avoid sweet-smelling foods and drinks such as pop and juice. Do NOT swat at insects, as this can make them frightened and increase the chance of being stung or bitten. Wear long-sleeved pants and shirts, with shirts tucked in and pants tucked into socks/boots. Always have an adult check you for ticks after being in a wooded area. Use insect repellent that contains DEET, but make sure you do not over-apply it. Follow the directions on the container.
- Weather
- Learn to dress for the weather
- Warm weather: Wear light-coloured and loose clothing, a wide brimmed hat, sunglasses and proper footwear. Drink lots of water before, during, and after an activity even if you are not thirsty. Avoid the hottest part of the day (between 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.) and seek shade. Always apply sunscreen, even on cloudier days and throughout the year, not just in the summer.
- Risks of activity in warm weather can include dehydration and heatstroke. If you are feeling thirsty, you are probably already starting to suffer from one of these. Make sure you drink lots of water BEFORE you start to feel thirsty.
- Cold Weather: Wear a hat, mittens, rain protection, warm pants, a shirt, jacket and boots. Cold weather brings a risk of frostbite or hypothermia, so make sure to dress warmly.
- Whenever you are hiking, make sure you layer your clothing. Weather can change at any time, and you can always take off or add clothing as it changes. Wear a hat and proper footwear.
Game
Craft
- Craft: Dress Right Paper Dolls
- Every girl needs to make two outfits for their paper doll. For our doll, we drew one outfit right onto the doll, and the other outfit could be placed over top of the doll. Explain that each outfit should be for a different seaons of camping - summer and winter, fall and spring, summer and fall, etc.
Closing
- Sing Now Run Along Home – song tune at http://www.dltk-bible.com/now_run_along_home.htm
- Sing the Brownie Closing Song