Wild About 4H---A Wilderness Survival Weekend
Nineteen local 4H members, ages 5-13, participated in a
Wilderness Survival Weekend hosted by Victory Workers 4H Club on
July 28th and 29th in Pittsfield. The members and their families
learned how to build a shelter, read maps and a compass,
identify plants, as well as many other critical outdoor skills
through various hands on activities.
To
begin the weekend 4H members crafted a few useful items to use
throughout their weekend. Owen (age 10) enjoyed making the
paracord bracelet which was taught by fellow 4H member, Josh(age
10). Some of the youth also made nature journals to record their
findings and decorated foam visors. Faith M. (age 5) said,
“I enjoyed making the duct tape water bottle holder and going in
the river.”
After making their items for the weekend, it was time to learn
some skills needed to survive in the wilderness. When asked
about her favorite part of the weekend, Addison (age 7) said “I
liked it all but if I had to choose, I liked learning how to
read a compass because I like to know where I’m going.”
After learning how to read a variety of different types of maps
and learning to use a compass, all of the kids used their new
skills to complete a scavenger hunt where they found great
hiking supplies along the way; a small back pack, a wildlife
tracking card, snacks (including jerky), a drink, tissues and
hand sanitizer. Knot tying was another skill-based
workshop where five different types of knots (thief knot, slip
knot, half hitch knot, bowline knot, square/reef knot, clinch
knot) were learned, practiced, mastered, and then displayed for
a fair exhibit.
Finding food in the wilderness is another very important thing
to know how to do, so the kids were split into two groups
according to age and taught some valuable fishing skills. The
older members learned fly tying and completed a display for the
fair, which Kyle (age 12) said was his favorite activity.
Younger members had the opportunity to use the clinch knot when
they made their own sapling fishing poles which Kara (age 9)
liked the best. After about an hour at the brook, three trout
were caught and released. When Keagan (age 8) was asked
what his favorite part of the weekend was, his answer was,
“That’s a little hard because I had TONS of fun! If we
could only repeat one activity, I’d pick fishing though.”
Jeremiah (age 8) also said, “Catching fish in the stream and the
scavenger hunt were both fun and good skills to learn.”
Taylor (age 10 ) was definitely thankful for the shelter
building workshop. She said, “Building the shelter taught
me the experience. If I get lost while hiking with my
family, I know how to build a shelter quickly if there’s a
storm.” The kids started collecting some ferns and dragging tree
branches for their shelter throughout the day, but the weather
didn’t cooperate to get it built in time to sleep in it for the
night. The rain didn’t dampen their spirits though; the kids
were still excited to learn the basics the following morning.
They learned about three basic structures (lean-to, tarp
shelter, and debris shelter) and worked together and used some
of those knot tying skills to build two of them.
Thankfully the rain broke just long enough Saturday night for
the kids to experiment with different ways to start a fire
without matches because Charley (age 13) said that he enjoyed
that part of the weekend the most.
The
sun was beautiful Sunday morning and the kids and adults enjoyed
some morning yoga in the dew covered field before breakfast—sun,
tree, flying bird and falling rain were among some of the
nature-themed poses learned. After breakfast both age
groups ventured together to the stream with their nets and field
guide books for some exploration. The kids learned about
entomology (the study of bugs) and caught and observed water
striders, dragonflies and others. During their exploration, they
also spotted over 10 different types of wild mushrooms along the
river bank and in the woods. Some of the kids are looking
forward to identifying them through the photos they took!
Thanks to the Merrimack County 4H Foundation for the grant which
allowed members to each make an extensive First Aid Kit which
will also be exhibited in the Hopkinton State Fair.
All
in all, it was a fantastic weekend and we all agreed when Faith
(age 5), said “Spending a day and a half with friends made it
special” and Bailey (age 8) who said, “The whole weekend was
amazing.”
