Adventure Week. Day 2 Prepare it. Scouts.ca

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1 Adventure Week Day 2 Prepare it The first step in the Plan, Do, Review process is really just another way of saying, Be Prepared. Great, safe Scouting requires thorough planning, considering all possible scenarios and knowing how you re going to react. Scouts Canada has a number of requirements in place as part of the activity safety net to help control risks and hazards, while still allowing for a well-planned quality experience. Most of these requirements can be found in the Scouts Canada Bylaws, Policies and Procedures document. An important step in planning for every activity is to ask if the Scouters and youth are: in the right place at the right time with the right people and with the right equipment? The approval and planning of activities also requires: A Camping and Outdoor Activity Application (submitted to the Group Committee for approval) Signed Parent/Guardian consent for Category 3 activities and international travel Up-to-date Program Participant Enrolment Form or Application for Membership and Appointment of Volunteers Tour Permit (as required) Completed Emergency Action Plan Scouts.ca

2 Beaver Scouts Plan an indoor campout with Beaver Scouts. Set up a camp indoors to allow the Beavers to have their first camping experience in a way that makes them comfortable and safe and is presented as practice for the real thing: outdoor camping. In preparation, bring along to a pre-campout meeting all the equipment that will be required for the camp-out, personal and group: personal clothing, tents, sleeping bags, cooking gear, food, etc. Have the Beavers make three piles of things they must take, things they would like to take but could live without, and things that should not go on a camp-out. Let the Beavers practise setting up the tents and getting into and out of a sleeping bag. Practise a camp meal so they can visualize how food cooking will work. Put some organic and non-organic trash in with the camp items they are asked to divide up. Ask them about what they should do with their trash while camping and introduce Leave No Trace. Set a practice tent so they can visualize what it will look like when they are camping. Ask them opened question about the activities: What will happen if I leave my tent door open? What will happen if I leave my clothes lying around outside of the tent? What will happen if I leave my flashlight on all night? What will happen if I don t put my water bottle lid on tightly? Try to get the Beavers to visualize and avoid mistakes before they happen. Young people don t always remember a lot of details and it may take hearing, seeing and practising an idea or skill before they grasp it. Plan accordingly. Ask the Beavers to paraphrase back to you what you want them to know as way of checking to see if they have learned the information or if you need to go back over the lesson. Use humour to get them to tell you what they know. If I get lost in the woods, I should run around and do not go near any trees is that true? No? Okay, you tell me what I should do. Have a look at AdventureSmart s Hug-a-Tree and Survive Program :

3 CUB SCOUTS Have Cub Scouts create a meal plan for a multi-day canoe trip. Ensure that they consider how many people are coming on the trip and how much food that will mean. Just as importantly, ensure that the Cubs are planning healthy, balanced meals. The Cubs should also think about snacks, drinks, and how to keep everything light-weight but without sacrificing too much on taste! Teach the Cubs about the importance of drinking fluids when outside. Drinking continuous small amounts of water ever minutes is the best way to stay hydrated. That is why backpacks with a built-in water pouch accessed through a shoulder strap mounted mouth piece are so effective; they make a big difference in how happy and hydrated a Cub can be! Another great way to keep Cubs drinking regularly is to toast water bottles. Celebrate a great view around a river bend when paddling, the discovery of a peaceful clearing on a hike, or a Cub s personal success on a climbing wall by clicking your water bottles together and shouting, Cheers! Make sure that all the Cubs are eating and drinking on an outing, and eating and drinking equally. Some Cubs will eat quickly to get seconds, sometimes at the expense of others. Say a prayer before eating so that everyone eats at the same time, and divide out leftovers as a second course. It can be dangerous for Cubs to take in too few calories, or to eat too much food, too quickly. Use Canada s Food Guide as a resource when menu planning:

4 SCOUTS Have Scouts create a risk management plan for an overnight hiking trip. Break the trip down into the hazards and risks that can be listed under the following three categories: 1. Environmental i.e. weather, plants, animals, water quality, dead standing trees, cliffs, insects, etc. 2. Equipment i.e. using a camp stove, knife or axe, not having essential items, poor-fitting hiking boots, etc. 3. Human i.e. food and other allergies, forgetting to do something like purifying their water, getting lost, not properly putting out a campfire, etc. Look at each of these three elements and identify and assess the risks and hazards that are expected to be encountered. Estimate the likelihood and severity of these hazards happening and eliminate or establish actions, plans and equipment choices that will remove the risk of lessen it to an acceptable and manageable level. Make a list of the individual and group gear required to be taken for contingencies, such as an unexpected turn in the weather or an injury. List essential items for each person to carry, and for the group to carry. Manage your pack weight. Does everyone have to carry a bottle of bug repellent and sunscreen? Can you only take a bowl, spoon and water bottle instead of a bowl, plate, cup, knife and fork? Carrying too much weight increases the likelihood of injuries. Have the Scouts learn to use the AdventureSmart trip planner:

5 VENTURER ScoutS Plan a route for a hiking trip by marking up a map and making notes. Your planning should include: Trailhead, terminus, the trail you re following, and other trails in the area grid points for rest stops, water stops, camp locations, meal stops the planed start and stop times; include projected stops for food, rest, water, camp departure and arrival the distances traveled between stops and the elevation gains and loses emergency bail-out routs and assistance locations date and time of departure and return members of the expedition and their emergency contact information (include age, gender, etc.) any important medical about group members any hazards that are expected on the route: i.e. Snake Creek will be too high to cross in the water; we will need to use the bridge that is a 2 km detour from the trail Most accidents happen late in the day when people are tired and not fully paying attention. Get up early and get to camp early; if something does go wrong, you will have more daylight to deal with the situation. Learn about Naismith s Rule: Follow the three group golden rules of hiking: 1. Never separate 2. Never separate 3. Always stick together

6 ROVER ScoutS Create a multi-day outdoor activity expedition digital log. After planning, making, and establishing a challenging outdoor expedition plan, come up with a plan to log and record the expedition. Pick a theme for the expedition: i.e. how Rovers communicate, lead and make decisions; how to approach and overcome an unknown difficult challenge; how to eat gourmet-style in the back country; how to minimize weight; etc. Plan out each day of the expedition and how and where you will capture and record the images, actions, and activities. Think about the equipment to be used: sport camera on a helmet, waterproof camera in a kayak, tripod set up for self-reporting, etc. The end goal could be a product to inspire and educate younger Scouts and show them what Rovers is about. The Rover motto is Service ; this could be a grand service to other Scout Sections. When recording outdoors, it is usually best to do so in pairs. One person should look out for the safety of the second person, who is capturing and recording the information. Learn how to make a great outdoor video: