As due to scheduling conflicts we were unable to take part in the Ontario Outdoors Day on Saturday, we had our own Outdoors Night on Friday! We based our event on the Leave No Trace Amazing Race instant meeting plan from BC Girl Guides.
We had 6 Guides and 3 Pathfinders join in to try some outdoor cooking, practice their outdoor skills, and learn about the principles of Leave No Trace. Each station had information about the Leave Not Trace principle it represented and instructions for the challenge the team was to undertake.
Once the girls arrived, we prepared supper - pita pizzas with chips, veggies and dip. Each group of 3 had a buddy burner and tea lights to heat up their pizzas and melt the cheese. We were also going to make kick the can ice cream, but as the Guiders forgot to get the ice, we'll be doing this on Tuesday at our Messy Night!
We had 7 stations in total. Four of them were done by all the teams at the same time (competition style), and the other three were done one at a time in a rotation. We alternated competition and individual group activities. The girls were divided up into 3 teams - Team Pathfinders (aka "Boss"), Team A Guides and Team B Guides, each with 3 members. We covered the LNT principle "minimize campfire impacts" with out outdoor cooking. The other six were covered in the game:
Station #1 Dispose of Waste Properly - Cat Holes (Competition)
Identify a landmark on the site that would be about 60m from where you are standing. This is how far from your camp site you should go before relieving yourself.Follow the instructions below to bury the poop out of the way so that no one and nothing knows you've been in the area.
6 D's of Human Waste Disposal
- Distance - 60 metres from water, trail and campsite
- Dig - with a shovel or trowel
- Depth - at least 15cm deep, 10cm diameter
- Dump - do your thing!
- Disguise - mix, bury, cover
- Decompose - Let nature do its thing!
Station #2 Plan Ahead and Prepare - First Aid Kit (Competition)
Before you head out on an adventure, you need to be prepared to take care of yourself in case of an emergency.
Put your memory to the test with a First Aid Kim's Game, then test your knowledge of what each item is used for!
The contents of our first aid kit were spread out on a tray and the teams were allowed to look at them for 1 minute. They then had to write down as many items as they could remember. As we went through the answers, we talked briefly about what each item is used for.
Station #3 Plan Ahead and Prepare - Be Bear Aware (Individual Group)
Bears and other wildlife are a real part of outdoor experiences in Canada.As a team, hang a bear bag to keep your food out of reach of hungry visitors.
The team was provided with a bucket (in place of a bear bag), rope, a carabiner, a stick, an instruction street on the PCT method (see Resources at the bottom of this post), and knot cards for help tying the knots.
Basically, they had to tie the carabiner to one end of the rope using a bowline, and through the weighted end up over the railing (we didn't have a tree with high enough branches). Once the rope was over the railing, they clipped it to the bucket, pulled the other end of the rope through the carabiner, and pulled the bucket up as high as they could. They then attached a stick to to the rope with a clove hitch and let the bucket slide back down until the stick met the carabiner. The idea is that this method allows the food to be far enough from the branch to deter smaller critters, high enough in the air to deter bears, and since the long piece of rope is left hanging, the food is safe even if a bear slashes the rope.
Station #4 Leave What You Find - Photo Challenge (Competition)
Take only pictures, don't even leave footprints!As a team, move around the site to capture the following things on your cameras. Be creative!
- Wildflower
- Wildlife (insect or critter)
- Life under a Rock
- Dead tree/nurse log
- A hiking stick
- Landscape or sky scene
- 2 kinds of trees
Station #5 Respect Wildlife - Tracks & Scat Game (Individual Group)
De not disturb wildlife, and be aware of what is living around you.Can you identify animals from their tracks and scat? Use the charts provided to match the track and scat cards to the correct animal.
We used the Leave No Trace: Paw Print & Scat Game from the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland (see Resource at the bottom of this post for the link). Two charts - one of animal tracks and one of scat photos - were provided and the girls had to sort through the cards and arrange them in the same format as the charts. (There is a second set of cards so this can also be played as a matching game or a memory game.)
Station #6 Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces - Build a Boat (Competition)
When hiking or camping, always use the most durable surface available to protect the environment.
You have come across a stream on the trail and need to cross it. Work as a team, using the supplies provided, to build a 'boat' to cross the stream. Your boat should be small, big enough for only two people, and it must always have at least one person in it.
Each team was provided with bamboo poles and rope to make their boats. Some of the girls used proper lashing techniques, which resulted in much sturdier creations than those who tried to just tie quick knots. Once the boats were built, it was a race to see which team could get their group across the stream (grassy area) first.
Station #7 Be Considerate of Others - Web Teamwork Challenge (Individual Group)
On your travels, it is important to remember the needs of others as well as your own.Your objective is to help your team members make their way through the web. Team members must work together to get through the web without touching the ropes - which would disturb others! Can you get your whole team from one side to the other without anyone touching the ropes or the ground?
A web was set up between two trees and the teams had to work together to get everyone from one side to the other.
Resources
BC Girl Guides - The Leave No Trace Amazing Race
The Ultimate Hang - Hanging a Bear Bag-The PCT Method
Girl Scouts of Central Maryland - LNT Paw Print & Scat Game
Girl Scouts of Central Maryland - Leave No Trace Activities
