Did you know that the average human could survive for 3 minutes without air, 3 hours without shelter, 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food? That's the Survival Rule of 3's. I sure hope I never have to put it to the test! Today we learned that and so much more about surviving in the wild.
We spent the morning working with maps and compasses so we know how to avoid putting ourselves in a survival situation to begin with! Now we know to put "Red Fred in the Shed" and to keep our compasses facing in our direction of travel. After some practice, we worked together to navigate our way around the Aldo Leopold Nature Center's grounds using our compasses to guide us.
After lunch, we split into two groups to build emergency shelters. This required a lot of careful thought and teamwork, as each group decided WHERE and HOW to build a sturdy structure. Then, we had the chance to build a Leave No Trace campfire. The kids decided together how to build the fire and learned that drinking warm fluids is even more helpful than sitting around a fire to keep warm. In the spirit of survival, we shared some hot chocolate prepared on our campfire!