Q
quietfool
Guest
Hi,
I have a query which I hope all the more experienced hands on here will have an opinion on...!
I'm involved with an organisation that runs activities for kids, and every few years they hold a large scale camp which, the last three times, has included a 24 hour survival experience. This event is obligatory, and involves about 250 kids aged 10 - 16 ish spending a night in a bivouac. They are told to bring an orange survival bag, two blankets, the clothes they are standing up in and a pot noodle/similar for supper. They make shelters from tarps. In bad weather there is a marquee provided to move them into, but no dry blankets/clothing etc. Although a daytime activity is organised by a team of helpers, there are no central helpers onsite all the time and nobody is involved who has any training/experience in bushcraft. Now, being a great lover of bushcraft myself I've always enjoyed these shared campouts but notice that most of the leaders dread the experience, and many of the children are cold and damp all night long. It doesn't seem to inspire a love of bushcraft in many of the participants as it comes to be equated to a miserable cold night. As I understand it, those orange bags are really survival equipment, not the kind of thing you would willingly use in a non-survival situation. Many people want to scrap the event; I think it could be adapted to become a real bushcraft challenge enjoyed by far more of its participants; but how? What do you think?
I have a query which I hope all the more experienced hands on here will have an opinion on...!
I'm involved with an organisation that runs activities for kids, and every few years they hold a large scale camp which, the last three times, has included a 24 hour survival experience. This event is obligatory, and involves about 250 kids aged 10 - 16 ish spending a night in a bivouac. They are told to bring an orange survival bag, two blankets, the clothes they are standing up in and a pot noodle/similar for supper. They make shelters from tarps. In bad weather there is a marquee provided to move them into, but no dry blankets/clothing etc. Although a daytime activity is organised by a team of helpers, there are no central helpers onsite all the time and nobody is involved who has any training/experience in bushcraft. Now, being a great lover of bushcraft myself I've always enjoyed these shared campouts but notice that most of the leaders dread the experience, and many of the children are cold and damp all night long. It doesn't seem to inspire a love of bushcraft in many of the participants as it comes to be equated to a miserable cold night. As I understand it, those orange bags are really survival equipment, not the kind of thing you would willingly use in a non-survival situation. Many people want to scrap the event; I think it could be adapted to become a real bushcraft challenge enjoyed by far more of its participants; but how? What do you think?