Camp Activities

• Contents Safety & Quality Guide
  
• Part of Safety & Quality - Part 1: Policies & Procedures
  
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Camp Visitors

Since many sites are in public areas, visitors may drop in because they are curious. Most are friendly, but sometimes they are not. Follow these protocols for any visitor when they arrive:

• Formally greet them. Introduce yourself and ask for their full name, first and last.
• Ask them to sign-in with Coordinator on visitor sheet and include their full name, contact information, and reason for and duration of visit.
• Notify all staff of visitor arrival and their full name
• Inform visitor that they must follow all camp rules and may never to be alone with a student.

Swimming & Wading

Without specialized oversight, do not allow swimming during any programs or at its facilities. Only Coordinators can make exceptions and only when a Certified Lifeguard is present. Wading, not swimming, is an option with students under the following safety guidelines.

Safety Guidelines

• Scout entire wading area for hidden objects, sudden drops and/or currents.
• Set boundaries for where students may wade.
• One teacher stays on land to Stand and Scan and do Head Counts, while another teacher is in the water with students at all times.
• Students should not wade in water above their knees.
• Rescue equipment should be readily available and in good repair.

Campfires

Campfires must be treated with care. Fire is a living thing that can burn students and forests. It can cause untold damage to lives and property. Coordinators will call the local fire department or park manager to check on fire rules and conditions. Fire regulations change seasonally and with weather, so update with local departments regarding current fire restrictions.

Approving Campfires

• Only build campfires allowed by local laws and regulations.
• Only build campfires at sites approved by a Coordinator.
• If approved, use your judgment to decide if the area is safe for a campfire.
• Fade all campfires; leave all campfires better than you found them.

Locating Campfires

• Build all campfires in approved areas following local, state and federal regulations.
• Build all campfires far away from flammable ground and debris, such as dry grass, leaves or even pine needles.
• Create a safe firebreak of rocks and/or bare earth between the fire and any flammable material.
• This firebreak must be more than adequate for your fire size.
• Reduce your impact: build the smallest possible fire you need.
• Do not place your fire under low overhanging branches.

Supervising Campfires

• All fire construction and campfires must be staff supervised.
• Participants must get permission before altering or tending to campfire. Monitor this closely.
• Have more than adequate water available for emergency extinguishing before you start a fire.
• Participants and staff should never “play” with fire.
• No horseplay or roughhousing around fire. People have been seriously injured by falling into seemingly innocuous campfires.
• Do not use dangerous accelerants like gasoline or lighter fluid to start your campfire. These can burn back into the containers and become bombs. Instead, rely on your fire building skills and outdoor competencies.

Extinguishing Campfires

• Burn all campfires to ashes, leaving no charcoal behind, because they can be difficult to extinguish and fade. Plan ahead in time, material and fire structure, to make this possible.
• All fires are properly extinguished with water (not dirt). Thoroughly drench fire and coals so that the ground and campfire is soaked.
• Feel below the coals and into the subsoil. Everything must be cool to touch.
• Fade the campfire:
  • If using an established fire ring, clean up scrappy material.
  • If using a primitive campfire, “fade” the fire by redistributing cold ashes around alkaline-loving plants. Any material not burnt fully to ashes (e.g. charred wood) must be soaked thoroughly in water, then removed to an established fire ring. If none is available, soak, then completely crush all charred bits to powder. Never bury charcoal.
• Be wary of root and ground fires. Fire can live underground for many months, traveling along roots, rotting logs and other forest materials.

Remember Fire must ALWAYS be fully extinguished and cool to the touch into the subsoil.

Climbing: Logs, Rocks & Trees

Kids want to climb everything. And that’s good. But climbing or playing carelessly around logs, trees, and rocks can lead to broken bones or even fatal falls.

Attack of the Killer Trees

Many people are killed each year by falling trees, rolling logs, and boulders. When entering a site, scout for standing dead trees, loose rocks, or logs. Avoid these, taking care where you situate camps and shelters, and where you stage participants. Be especially careful which logs or boulders you let students climb and sit on. Always ask these important questions:

• Will that tree fall on them?
• Will that log roll out from under them?
• Will that boulder fall over and crush them?

Also move away from trees during high winds or ice that can cause trees and heavy limbs to fall. Be careful in all seasons, but especially in winter.

Climbing

We separate “free” climbing from “roped or geared” climbing (a highly technical skill requiring training and certification). Do not allow students to free climb trees or vertical rock faces without the explicit permission of the Coordinator. Only allow roped or geared climbing under special circumstances and with properly certified Teachers. Bouldering below chest height and climbing on low logs are fine if they are assessed to be completely stable. Remember these guidelines:

• Ensure stability. If log or rock is unstable or loose, do not allow participants to walk on them.
• No horseplay or “King of the Mountain.”
• Instruct students to maintain three points of contact with the climbing surface (e.g. two hands and a foot, or two feet and one hand).
• Do not help participants onto climbing surface. If they can’t get up themselves, they can’t get down either.
• Don’t climb above chest height.
• Don’t climb on logs floating in water.
• Use caution when climbing on any wet surfaces.
• Do not climb on areas where you can have a destructive impact (e.g. crumbling nurse logs).

Traveling Off-Trail

Outdoor education programs should go off-trail in appropriate spaces. We need to follow deer and bear down their own paths to learn from the true masters of wilderness skills. We must also take care to not expose ourselves to hazards, nor make a significant impact on the lands we care for.

Off-Trail Hazards

While going off-trail keep your Whiskers on. Always scan for (but don’t limit your awareness to):

• Stinging insects flying out of the ground or in foliage. Don’t walk participants into a nest.
• Poking sticks. Move slowly so that that woody debris and rocks do not pose impaling or tripping hazards.
• Changing terrain. Avoid twisted ankles in badger holes (or any hole).
• Toxic contact plants. Avoid plants like poison oak or giant hogweed. Know the toxic contact plants of your area ahead of time and teach them to students before traveling off-trail. See Edible Plants, Poisonous Plants for more information.

Moving Off-Trail

Moving off trail is an art. You want to limit your impact by Counter Tracking (leaving little trace) and also moving in such a way that helps everyone avoid hazards. If you encounter an animal or bird, respect its space. Be like a herd of deer in the woods. Do not cause them alarm. Remember:

• Always be scanning with your Whiskers to spot wildlife and avoid hazards.
• Teach and practice wilderness movement skills. With each step, feel the ground for a quiet and stable place before committing your weight.
• Whenever possible, travel slower than the modern walking pace. For reference, watch videos of a relaxed gait of deer and other animals as they walk and graze.
• Practice stepping around and under plants to avoid crushing them. Don’t create “Elephant Trails.”
• Go back and examine your trails. Challenge participants to leave lighter and lighter trails behind.
• Study and teach participants about how different animals travel through the forest.
• Mitigate your tracks: Challenge students to make their trails look like those of different animals, from elk to deer to coyote. They can even walk in the tracks left behind by animals, trying not to make the footprints any bigger.
• Minimize your tracks: Make a game out of traveling down off-trail sections where you leave absolutely no tracks. With participants, plan your route to facilitate this (e.g. rocky areas), thus teaching pathfinding navigation at the same.
• Check in with your Coordinator to see if off-trail travel is appropriate for your site. In many public parks, going off-trail is not allowed.

Rangers Formation

Move in Rangers Formation to keep a low profile. This is a stealthy, silent, single-file line, where everyone walks in each other’s tracks. The Pathfinder (lead) of a Rangers Formation often limits travel to animal trails and steps into animal tracks (especially deer and elk) to counter-track, eliminating the group’s trackable sign.

Staying Found

Before going off-trail, be certain of your own ability to keep your group found. Get approval from your Coordinator and tell people where you’re going. Once off-trail, create a Story Map of your travels with your students. See Staying Found (Not Getting Lost).

Edible Plants, Poisonous Plants

In outdoor education programs we incorporate the identification and harvest of wild or homestead cultivated foods into our curriculum. The most important rule is: Always be 100% sure about the plant you are harvesting.

A significant concern is when people believe they are experts in plant identification, when in reality, they don’t have the knowledge required to keep their students or themselves safe. There exists a very real cognitive bias where people believe they possess greater competency than they actually have. This can be an issue with many of the skills we teach.

Remember Be humble. Think more about what you do not know as opposed to what you think you know. Do not take risks with students or staff while eating wild plants.

Don’t Trust Students

Certain plants have poisonous lookalikes. Even lookalikes that are simply inedible can be problematic. If a student intended to eat miner’s lettuce, but instead picks and eats an inedible lookalike, one leaf may not kill them, but you now have the problem of a student misidentifying a plant they ate. Once that story goes home to parents, your program’s ability to care for children will be justifiably called into question.

Ask students to show you the plant before they eat it, even if you already taught it to them. This may not always be necessary with certain plant harvesting activities, for example, picking berries. Because the level of oversight can vary by student, location, or activity, check in with your Coordinator to see which plants can be harvested with more independence.

Toxic Contact Plants

Certain plants are toxic upon skin contact: poison oak, poison ivy, poison sumac, giant hogweed. For every site you visit, research and know all toxic contact plants. Discuss boundaries and strategies with students to avoid these plants both off trail and on trail. If a student touches a toxic contact plant do not panic. Instead, comfort the participant and notify your Coordinator immediately for treatment.

Safe Harvesting

To ensure a safe harvest, follow these guidelines:

• At the start of any program, no student should harvest without teacher permission.
• You will get students who believe they are wild plant experts. Enthusiast does not equal expert. Even with previous knowledge, all participants must respect teacher boundaries and only harvest when permitted. Be judicious when evaluating a participant’s experience.
• Research and know all poisonous plants in your area. Be fully knowledgeable about identification and poisonous lookalikes.
• Your Coordinator must authorize you to harvest a specific plant, fungus or animal. This is revocable at any time.
• Be fully aware of food allergies/sensitivities. Avoid common allergens.
• Be certain you are not harvesting from toxic or polluted soils.
• Do not harvest mushrooms for eating unless during specialized mushroom foraging classes or activities that have been previously authorized by the Coordinator. Too many risks of misidentification.
• Do not harvest any plant from the wild carrot family for edible use due to risk of poisonous lookalikes.
• Limit intake of plants that may cause gastrointestinal issues.

Laws

Check in with local regulations and health codes for harvesting and eating wild plants with participants. Follow these tips to work within common regulations:

• Only harvest where you have collection permits or permission or allowance.
• Check ahead of time to ensure that all participants have required harvesting licenses.
• All foods should be properly cooked if needed and follow food handling safety regulations.
• The wild or homestead cultivated foods should not be the main meal option. Students should have a clear option of regulated foods. The exception being programs that are specifically crafted as a “living off the land” experience.

Tag & Running Games

Tag and other games can become “phoning-it-in” activities. Play them mostly for transitions or down time. Games should be energizers used to break up the day, not take up the day!

Games With Deeper Meaning

• Games can and should be used to give kids needed downtime to digest the meatier information you’ve been teaching them the rest of the day.
• Games can and should tie in to a bigger thematic dialogue and help develop skills.

Safety Concerns

If you utilize a running game for a transition, follow these safety recommendations:

• Tag and running games can be dangerous. Set clear boundaries and rules to avoid collisions and other safety hazards.
• Ensure surfaces are dry and open: no-ankle breaking holes, skullcrushing rocks, liver-piercing branches.
• If participants are running on an uneven surface, have them practice a form of running that fosters awareness of foot placement.
• Do not expect students to “run off ” their energy. Running games generally increase, not decrease, the energy level of a group.

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