Emergency Preparedness

This week our Pathfinder and Ranger led a meeting all about Emergency Preparedness based on the "Be Prepared, Not Scared" Challenge from Alberta.

As the girls arrived they found out which Patrol they will be in and the Patrol Leaders had their first chance to fill in the attendance and dues books. We had two runs at forming a horseshoe and then had an active game - Hotdog Tag.

The first activity was a group discussion about what types of items you might have in an emergency or survival kit and what the items could be used for in different situations. The group talked about different types of natural emergencies and being prepared at home. Girls shared what they thought their family would do in different situations. They also discussed the necessities of survival - food, water and shelter - and why each is critical.

We then played Kim's Game using items that should be found in a 72 Hour Emergency Preparedness Kit. Pictures of all the items were spread out on the floor. All of the Guides had 30 seconds to look at the pictures and then they were covered with a sheet. Each group then had to write down as many items as they could remember.

Next we split up into groups to create skits about different scenarios. After each skit, we discussed each scenario so the girls would know what to do in an emergency. Our scenarios were: Fire, Injury While Hiking, Rescuing a Pet, Tornado Warning, Canoe Accident. We talked about fire safety, personal safety, caring for pets in an emergency, getting help, water safety, and what to do in the event of a weather warning.

Our final activity was the "What to do in a Natural Emergency" Game from the Ontario Emergency Preparedness Challenge. This game uses different actions to help girls learn what to do in different emergency situations. While practicing each action, the reasons for the actions were explained. Here are the actions:

• Lightning Storm - Crouch into a leap frog position and protect your head.
• Tornado - Lie flat (pretend you are in a ditch so you do not get hurt by flying debris) and protect your head.
• Flash Flood - Pretend to climb up a hill (get to higher ground immediately when rivers and streams swell due to heavy rain)
• Heat Wave - Fan yourself with your hand and pretend to drink water
• Wind Storm - Grab a partner so that one stands still like a shield and the other girl crouches down sheltered by her partner

We ended with a few action songs, reminders for next week (Enrolment!) and Taps.