Teaching Outdoor Skills

[immortal_ben]

One of my college classes is requiring me to perform eight hours of volunteer work for a non-profit organization. I was looking around on volunteermatch.org and saw that the Girl Scouts were looking for outdoor skills instructors for their camp outside of Prescott, AZ.

I have contacted them and they were excited to hear what I had to offer them. I have completed the volunteer application and criminal background check info and am just waiting to hear back from them.

I will get the chance to teach orienteering, general camping skills, survival, outdoor cooking, and maybe even some beginner climbing. This may turn out to be a regular thing if it ends up being as fun as I think it will.

I brought it up because it struck me that there are others on this forum with skills that might be interested in doing similar things.

[Hikenhunter]

Re: Teaching Outdoor Skills

Cool let us know how it works out. I was a boy scout leader years ago but it was one of the most rwarding experiences I have ever had.

[Shadow]

Re: Teaching Outdoor Skills

Oh I didn't see this thread before now... Excellent.

[immortal_ben]

Re: Teaching Outdoor Skills

Background check came back fine yesterday evening. I am scheduled to teach at the end of March.

[GlitterHiker]

Re: Teaching Outdoor Skills

that's very cool! thanks for bringing it up. I'm pretty booked with other volunteer work right now, but will keep this in mind for the future.

[Hikenhunter]

Re: Teaching Outdoor Skills

The end of March has come and gone. So tell us how did it go???????

[pitmaster]

Re: Teaching Outdoor Skills

i'm new to the forum and just read the thread. hope things turned out good with the volunteering and you had fun doing it. it's great to give back the knowledge we learn and accumulate over the years, but it's also great to learn new or different ways as we get older as well, especially if it makes things easier lol

[RichD]

Re: Teaching Outdoor Skills

Sounds fun,wish I had the time!

[Brandon]

Re: Teaching Outdoor Skills

I wish there was someone around me that could teach me that stuff. I am new to the whole camping thing. I went some as a kid but didn't have to worry about starting a fire or any of that. I just got back into camping and wish I knew all of that stuff. I guess I need to find somebody to go camping with for a weekend who knows all that stuff and can teach me.

[terasec]

Re: Teaching Outdoor Skills

brandon, dont let lack of mentor stop you,
may take you longer to learn easier ways to do things, but can still learn yourself,
small steps at a time,
as HS mentioned 1 thing at a time,
can practice things like firemaking in your own backyard,
for camping start out with small short trips,
and work your way up to longer further more challenging trips
food water shelter is all you need,
can start with car site camping trips,
take day hikes,
stick to trails until you learn your way around.
bring ready to eat food/water/and reliable firestarting material
nothing wrong with practicing firestarting with various materials as your sitting next to a fire you made with lighter fluid.
as for food, HS mentioned, bring ready to eat food as you learn to cook your meals,
will learn some foods dont pack/travel well. or you dropped your only Tbone steak into the charcoal.
another skill to learn over time is water,
carry all your water? boil water? use disinfecting tablets? filter the water?
water management is also important, did you bring enough water to make that rice you brought, morning cup of coffee, and go on that hike the next day?
as for shelter, start with a basic tent, going high end and expensive is generally geared toward specific type of camping,

people dont spend years and lots of money to learn to camp,
they spend years and money learning how to do it more comfortably,

[GlitterHiker]

Re: Teaching Outdoor Skills

Start by camping in good weather for just one quick overnighter. Take a bucket of chicken so you don't have to cook. Arrive at the campground in late afternoon and leave in the morning. You'll learn a lot from just that one overnighter.

That's how I got started! Whoa, I learned so much from doing it that way, too.

Some additional advice: do you have an REI or other outdoor sporting goods store nearby? REI offers lectures on camping skills, 1/2-day workshops, and overnighters -- all geared towards beginners.

Read this forum, books, and websites.

When you head out on your first overnighter, talk to the rangers and the camp hosts. They'll all be happy to give you some tips.

I think the basics you'll want to accomplish:

• Learn how to make a fire. Even if you don't cook with it, at some point in your outdoor adventures, it could be a life-saving skill.
• Figure out how you'll eat: campfire stove, campfire, or bring a cooler with prepared food
• Learn how to navigate your way around: learn how to use a compass and read a map
• Shelter: make sure you have proper clothing, proper sleeping arrangements, and an appropriate tent (or hammock, or tarp)
• Make sure you have access to plenty of water: for drinking, cooking, and ensuring your campfire is out
• Learn what wildlife is in your area, and know how to protect yourself from it
• Emergency / bailout: pay attention to the weather and make contingency emergency plans. (I mention this because I was once caught in a tornado warning and spent a very long evening in the campground bathhouse - the sturdiest building within a mile.)