1 Woods & Water An educational track created for LOST Camp 2015 Audience: 7 th and 8 th Graders in Louisiana LSU AgCenter- Grant Walker 4-H Educational Center Ashley L. Powell, Associate Program Coordinator Kaitlyn Kight, Summer Staff Candace Goldbeck, Summer Staff
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Woods & Water Youth Outdoor Adventure Education Program
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Woods & Water An educational track created for LOST Camp 2015
Morning Schedule Station # Topic Rotation Location
1 Navigation A B C Trail by Old Rifle Range
2 Shelter Construction &
Paracord B C A Trail behind boy’s Cabin 16
3 Trip Prep & Edible Plants C A B Trail between old rifle range
Afternoon Schedule Station # Topic Rotation Location
1 Lifejacket Jeans & Standup
Paddle Boarding A B C Pond
2 Canoe Rescue B C A Pond
Amazing Race Various locations on the premises
Track Description Woods and Water is an outdoor educational program that teaches 7
th & 8
th grade students important wilderness
survival and water safety skills. This track was created specifically for the Louisiana Outdoor Science and
Technology (LOST) Camp in the summer of 2015. The program can be implemented with a group ranging
from 20-60 campers. The program can accommodate more depending on your program’s availability of
teachers, materials and resources, and space.
In the mornings, campers will be divided up into three group of 12 and rotate in 50 minute intervals through the
stations. Stations in the morning teach components of 4-H Camp Grant Walker’s Wilderness Survival and
Outdoor Adventures educational tracks.
In the afternoon, campers will rotate, as a group, through three stations at the pond. Stations in the afternoon
teach components of 4-H Camp Grant Walker’s Water Safety track, plus boating safety.
You will need a minimum of three instructors for the lessons and two lifeguards for the afternoon water
activities. Two volunteers are needed at each station in the morning and afternoon session.
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Preparing to Teach- Models, Methods, & Tips General Tips for Leading a Group Scheder, C.M. (2002) Outdoor Living Skills Field Guide. American Camping Association.
o Be prepared
o Create a short outline
o Practice teaching
o Check out the area before starting
o Have all equipment and teaching materials ready and in working condition
o Have a backup plan
o Take a look at CGW’s risk management/safety plan
Ask campers to name a survival Typically, they will identify Raise their hands to give answers
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situation. Then ask them to
describe a situation that could
happen to them.
situations like a plane crash or
hurricane that has a remote chance
of happening to them.
Ask campers, what events could
quickly turn into survival
situations?
Getting lost, hunting, fishing and
boating, driving, weather, etc.
Raise their hands and give answers
Explain to campers that they will
work together to learn about
survival skills and decide what
basic needs our bodies need to
survive and what items can help
us meet these needs.
Activity:
For this activity, you can divide the campers into small groups
What YOU Say What CAMPERS Say What Campers DO
First, ask campers, what are the
seven basic survival needs are for
humans?
Campers will say things like food,
water, shelter, etc.
When a small group correctly
names one of these needs, hand
them the sign for the need and have
them stand in front, holding the
sign so everyone can see it.
As each need is said, briefly define
this need for the group and
highlight why it is important.
Ask the campers to give examples
of when they have gone without
each need for any extended period
of time.
Campers will have multiple
answers and stories. Let campers
tell the stories to the group.
A camper will move to the front of
their group with all of the needs
signs. Continue until campers have
identified each need.
Now, ask campers to arrange the
needs from “most” to “least”
important.
Group discussion Campers will be holding their signs
and moving the persons the signs to
either the left or right to indicate
importance.
Allow the campers to try multiple
times to get the order correct. After
each attempt, tell when which
needs are correct and what needs
have to be rearranged.
Once they have the correct order,
ask campers, guess how long a
person can go without that need.
Campers will have an array of
answers. Allow for multiple
guesses.
Raise their hands and give an
answer.
As campers correctly come up with
the answers, give the “needs” their
corresponding “length of time”
sign.
When all is done, ask if there are
any questions and clarify any
points that the campers do not
understand.
An array of questions Campers will be in their groups
asking questions.
II. Trip Prep 10min
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Materials Needed:
None
Activity:
1. Tell campers, now that we know what the seven basic needs are to survive, what do you think you
need to bring with you when you are hiking or camping in the wilderness? (Ask in an open-ended
way. Let campers come up with what needs to be brought.)
o Food- Is a cheeseburger and fries good food to bring? No.
o Ask campers, what kind of food should be brought? Trail mix, fruit, protein bars, granola
bars, jerky, etc. Foods that are easy to pack and nutritious.
o Water- Lots of water! Always want to be hydrated.
o Fire starter- Campers will always say lighter or matches. Talk about why they aren’t the best options.
o Lighters break and run out of fluid, what if matches get wet. Make them think.
o Flint and steel is the best option.
o Talk about things they could find naturally to start fire as well (sticks for friction fires).
o Pocket knife/multipurpose tool- Campers will want to say guns or machetes. Discuss why those are
not practical. Pocket knives are smaller and just as useful.
o Whistle- in case you get lost or to scare away bigger animals.
o First Aid Kit- Self-explanatory in use, except make them think.
o What could the things inside the kit be used for besides bandaging themselves up? Space blanket can be used for shelter, tweezers could be used as a tool, Band-Aids can be
used like tape, etc.
o Map/Compass- Kids will want to say GPS or cell phone. Talk about why that isn’t practical. Phones
and GPS can die or lose signal or could be dropped in water or off a cliff. Maps and compasses will
always work if you know how to use them.
2. Ask campers, before you leave to go hiking what do you need to do?
o Plan your hike/know the area you are hiking in
o Tell someone where you are going.
o What specific things do you need to tell them? Exactly where you are going and how long
you anticipate being gone.
3. Ask campers, while you’re hiking how do you make sure you don’t get lost?
o Stay on the trail!—Expand on this,
o How do you know you’re on the trail? You’ll see a clear path and there will be trail
markers. Every trail (established) will have clear markers or signs. Different
examples of these will be actual signs, wooden pegs, flags, etc.
o Bring a buddy.
o Stop when you realize you are lost.
4. Before you take campers out on the trail, go over trail rules and expectations.
a. Don’t pass the leader up on the trail as the trail leader.
b. Don’t eat anything that the leader has not specifically said is an edible plant and is okay to eat.
c. Stay on the trail.
d. Ask lots of questions.
e. Explain that by going out into the woods, we might encounter some animals. This is their
home, not ours, and because of that reason we will respect them. We won’t run away from
them screaming and we won’t run toward them screaming. We won’t throw things at them
or hurt them. We WILL stop, look at them, talk about them, and move on. f. Usually at this point some kid will have asked about a poisonous snake. Discuss the difference
between venomous and poisonous. Tell campers that there are no poisonous snakes. Snakes
CAN be VENEMOUS but not poisonous and will discuss the difference. Poison, like poison
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dart frogs and poison ivy, harm you when it is absorbed through your skin or ingested (you
eat it). Venom harms you because it is injected into your blood stream by the bite. g. Also discuss how snakes are not usually aggressive just to be aggressive. They become
aggressive when provoked and irritated. Compare it to an annoying little brother or sister. Ask
campers, do you ever do anything to hurt your siblings when they are just playing and
minding their own business? They usually say no they just leave them alone. Then, ask how
they react if their little brother or sister starts to poke them and get up in their face. Then they say
that they usually retaliate with smacks or hits. Remind them that for these same reasons snakes
react when you mess with their home, their young, or intimidate them.
III. Edible Plants 30 min
Materials Needed:
Edible plants hand out
Activity:
1. Break campers up into three small groups. Have a Junior Counselor count off the students as 1,2, and
3’s.
2. Explain to campers, they will be looking for the edible plants that are on the handout I will be
giving you. You should discuss, as a group, which part of the plant you think is edible as you find
them. I will be stopping periodically on the trail to talk about different things that we find and see.
3. As you walk to the trail, discuss what poison ivy and poison oak look like.
a. Discuss how they grow in two forms: plant form and vine form.
b. I ask if anyone knows the rule of thumb for identifying them. (They will usually know the
answer). For the plant: Leaves of three, leave them be. For the vine: Hairy vines are scary vines.
Tell campers that you will point out examples on the trail.
4. Tell campers that a lot of the plants that you will be looking for are trees. Ask how you can identify
trees besides their leaves? Bark, roots, height, what they produce. Give examples. Sycamore Trees and
American Beech trees for bark. Pine trees are taller than Dogwood Trees. Cypress Trees have very
distinctive roots. Pine trees produce pine cones, acorns come from Oak trees, the brown spiky balls that
are on the ground are gumballs that come from Sweet Gum trees.
5. Stop in the old rifle range and the lumber log. Discuss how to properly roll a log. Roll the log toward
you verses rolling it away. Ask campers, do you know why you roll a log this way?
a. Any critters under there that you don’t want to deal with (snakes for example) will run away
from you if you roll in towards you. If you were to roll it away from you the snake would come
towards you.
6. Right over the bridge, stop at the Sugar Maple. Discuss what Maple trees give us—maple syrup. While
you are stopped, also point out the hairy vine that is growing on one of the trees on the trail. Explain to
campers what a hairy vine is and that its scary because its poison ivy or poison oak.
7. Continue walking along the trail—stop and point out muscadine vine.
a. Tell campers, their berries are edible, and that when they are a reddish/purple they are
delicious and can be made into jams and jellies. A camper generally asks if it’s okay to eat
things that other animals eat. Answer: No, animals have different digestive systems that ours and
have different immunities.
8. Stop at tree with the engravings in it. Ask the campers, do you think it is good for the tree’s health to
engrave or carve on it? Answer: No. The bark acts like your skin for the tree. It protects it from insects,
animals, and diseases. We need to make sure we respect our trees and not hurt them.
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9. Find a tree or a branch with Lichen. It’s all over and easy to find. Explain to campers that lichen is
edible and that if they want to try it they can. Talk about how it’s a cross between a fungus and an
algae. A fun way to remember it is that “Fred Fungus met Alice Algae and they took a Lichen to
each other!” Also explain how it’s different than moss. Moss is dark green and fuzzy, lichen is a teal
blue and grows flush against the bark of the tree.
10. Stop at the American Beech tree. (At the big open area). Discuss how this is one tree that has very
specific bark. Tell campers that Beech nuts (the fruit that they produce) are edible. However,
squirrels have easier access to them than we do since Beech trees grow really high. So we hardly
ever have the opportunity to eat them. Do you see any beech nuts anywhere for us to try?
American Beech trees also have another edible part. If you find a sapling (baby tree) the leaves are
also edible.
11. At the end of the trail point out the tree that is covered in poison ivy and point out what it looks like.
Then discuss all the other plants on the list we haven’t covered so far.
o Long leaf and short leaf pine trees—edible parts are the seeds that lie within the pine cones and the
pine needles. If you boil the needles in water it makes a tea that is high in Vitamin C.
o Oak Trees- Acorns are edible. Should be soaked in water first to release the tannin. Toxic chemical
that will be harmful in large doses.
o PawPaw Tree- Fruit is the edible part, they say that Lewis and Clark survived solely off this fruit
while traveling through Louisiana.
o Sassafras- roots used to make sassafras tea, root beer, and file (soup thickening agent). Sapling
Sassafras leaves can also be eaten
12. Ask campers if they have any more questions.
o Also, discuss if you were to get lost on a hike the hierarchy of what needs to be done.
o Number one: Don’t panic. Ask why we don’t want to panic. Get more lost, hyperventilate,
get hurt, etc.
o Number two: establish where you are and how long till dark.
o Number three: worry about shelter. Ask what counts as shelter. Canopy, clothes, caves, etc.
Not necessarily a house—anything that protects you from the elements counts as shelter.
o Number four: Water. You can only survive up to 3 days without water. How do you get
water when you run out of your own? Get water from a running source (fresh never salt
water). You must filter out big impurities and boil it to kill bacteria.
o Number five: Food. Last priority. You can survive up to 3 weeks without food. Gather all the
edible plants that we have talked about when you need food. Don’t worry about hunting. You
want little energy spent so you can save your strength.