Safety & Quality: Introduction

Contents Safety & Quality Guide

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Welcome to Trackers

Welcome to our community. We are here to embark on a great adventure. It will never be perfect. It will always be challenging. It will often be incredible. We journey deeper, explore thoughtful dreams and help create a world that needs to exist. We do this through the Game of Tracking.

Our Story

We help children feel like that group of kids wandering through rural backyards over 50 years ago: independent, tired, muddy, and happy from their time in the wild. After years of working in outdoor education we are aware of the real hazards found in the outdoors. We work to move away from the limits of conventional environmental education; to teach kids how to be safe living with the wild, not phobic of nature. We offer thoughtfully guided, yet real experiences. We believe it is okay to be thirsty at times, cold at times, wet at times. These experiences build empathy and care for the gifts of life. They allow for adventure and true accomplishment. We also believe it is critical for children to feel supported and cared for as they explore their passions and responsibilities. Through a healthy immersion in nature, children test the great potential of their often-untapped physical and emotional resiliency.

Common Sense Versus Policies

The policies in this manual are meant to contribute to the greater health of the particicipants we serve, our employees, and the organization. You must be always vigilant, always thoughtful, and always alert. Your own critical judgment is your most important safety tool. By paying attention you can foresee and anticipate risk. You can help limit that risk before it leads to challenges or trauma.

You can help us always improve and do better. When you see opportunities to improve safety, share them immediately with other staff, especially Coordinators and Directors. Together, we are always striving to improve.

Safety First

Safety is the most fundamental part of caregiving. Our capacity to care for children is a measure of our maturity. Violation of any safety policy is grounds for dismissal. As educators we follow this critical safety tenet:

Remember Nothing escapes our attention. Nothing is left to chance.

Safety is not just a set of rules: it is a conversation. We encounter many opportunities for risk in our daily adventures. You have to be nimble, always seeking to eliminate risk and increase the opportunity for the success of your students and your team.

Our safety procedures are framed around check-ins and assessments. It is the responsibility of your Coordinator to audit you and your team, but you, too, must be your own critic. Be the person who asks: “Am I thoughtful? Am I keeping my students safe?”

How We Reduce Risks

DO NOT start camp until all these requirements are met:

• Hire the most qualified, safety-conscious staff Our staff protects the Village. Any unsafe behavior is subject to review or dismissal.
• Require all staff members attend safety trainings and meetings: Continue your education and learn best practices. Stay fresh and up to date.
• Create Site Safety Reports: This is a documented assessment of a site for directions, evacuation, contacts of ems and hazards and how to mitigate them.
• Identify high-risk activities and participants: Mitigate risk by following safety procedures. Work with staff to develop procedures for new activities not addressed in this manual. Do not implement an activity without clear safety procedures in place.
• Have daily Safety Check-ins: Before each program day begins, staff members meet for a Safety Meeting. Repeat this meeting with your students.
• Never be alone with a student: This protects you and the student. Always have a Truddy present. A Truddy is a group of three (including you).

Truddy System A Truddy is three people. Campers must always be in a Truddy when they are in open areas or away from the main group. When a staff member takes a student to the restroom, they should bring a Truddy with them.

Whiskers

Whiskers is one of the single most important skill you can cultivate. Whiskers is the peripheral vision and the edges of all senses. It means perceiving more than the obvious. Living by the awareness that small and minor details can be life-changing. Our modern world teaches us from an early age to focus on one thing: chalkboard, TV, computer, the “right” answer. In reality, there is another world moving, unpredictable, on the periphery.

If you limit your thoughts on safety to what’s right in front of your eyes (or in this policy manual), you miss critical information. If you are always using your Whiskers, considering more than the obvious, you will be much better at keeping everyone safe. Be aware of everyone in your group at all times.

Activity Place your hands together out in front of your eyes. Focus straight ahead. While wiggling your fingers, spread your arms apart until you can just barely see movement on both sides. This is your wide-angle vision—your Whiskers.

Your Choices Have Impact

Remember whom we serve. This is vital to caring for and protecting the Village. When making decisions while teaching, keep in mind the following groups. This will lead to healthier choices:

Students: Your students, especially children, are our priority.

Staff: An injury to a staff member is just as concerning and damaging as an injury to a student. Care for yourself and your fellow staff as you would your students.

Organization: Your organization offers livelihood to dozens of families. The smallest mistake can have serious repercussions to all members of the Village.

Patience—We Are All Human

We often forget that we are normal humans with normal pressures, fears, and challenges. If someone is having a bad day, ask if you can lend a hand. If you are having a bad day, ask for help. Don’t blame others. It is critical to not be controlled by our moods. The lives and livelihood of many people are in your hands. Empathy and compassion are two of our most powerful tools.

Decision-Making Priorities

When making any safety decision, take the following into account in this order:

1. Physical well-being of participants. This takes precedence and should be the foundation of all safety policies and procedures.
2. Emotional well-being of participants. Consider participants and their different responses to activities. Ask questions, observe body language to decipher their emotions, and calibrate your response accordingly.
3. Well-being of the Village. Everyone in your team is important. Every choice you make can greatly impact the healthiness of your team. Patience, effective communication, and forgiveness are key.

Codes & Rules

Ensure the following happens at all times.

The Big 3 Rules

1. No one dies.
2. No wounds that don’t heal in four days.
3. Follow the Trackers Code.

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