Adventures in Survival Class

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I went to a two-day survival class in April. We learned how to survive in the woods. Our teacher was Miss Saleena, who is also our Girls on the Run coach. In this class, we learned about animal poop and tracks. We each got a survival pack that had supplies for surviving in the woods in it. We built a fire and a shelter.  We learned emergency first aid. We also learned about compasses and wayfinding. I cannot wait to learn more survival skills!

The first day, I was not happy about going to a survival class. Then my mom said, “Your friend, Piper, is going!” I was so excited! When I got there, I saw some of my friends and met some new friends. I was happy to see my coach, Miss Saleena, and I said, “Hi!” to her. Then, I went over to my friends from Girls on the Run. The first thing that we did was introduce yourselves. Then we got started. 

ANIMALS

The first thing we learned about was matching poop to animals. Our teacher had rubber animal poop.  It looked real, but it did not smell. It felt like a squishy ball. The types of animal poop that we saw were deer, racoon, squirrel, chipmunk, fox, frog, rabbit, and porcupine. We went hiking in the woods. While we were in the woods, we discovered some animal poop. It was dried up. It is important to know what kind of poop it is so that when you are in the woods you can tell what kinds of animals are around. 

The next thing we learned about was some animal tracks. There are different kinds of animal tracks, for example there are some deer tracks, bear tracks, dog tracks and other kinds of animal tracks. We made plasters of different kinds of animal tracks. I made deer tracks. Deer have hooves. Horse hooves are round and may have shoes. Deer hooves are smaller, more like a triangle, and there are two toes. 

SURVIVAL PACK

After learning about poop and tracks, Miss Saleena gave each of us our own survival pack. She placed supplies that we need in our survival packs on the table and we put them in our own bags. In the pack were the following items: a compass with a magnifying glass, duct tape, a fire-starter with cotton soaked with vaseline, an emergency light, and an emergency blanket. We also got medical supplies: gauze pads, antiseptic towelettes to wipe cuts, stretch gauze to put on a wound, a bandage, band aids, sting relief for bug bites, and rubber gloves. 

BUILDING A FIRE AND SHELTER

The best part was building a shelter made from sticks and leaves.  We worked together. First, we found a good spot to build the shelter. Secondly, we gathered big sticks and placed them at a good angle against a tree. Then, we gathered medium and tiny sticks to stack on the three bigger branches. Finally, we gathered leaves to put on the tiny sticks. Afterwards everyone piled into the shelter!

Our teacher showed us how to make a fire. Piper and I shouted, “FIRE!” because we were excited to build a fire. First, we picked a spot to build the fire. Secondly, we gathered tiny sticks. Then we gathered grass and brown leaves. There were already stones there, so that the fire would not spread. We got our supplies out. We used a firestarter and cotton balls with vaseline. Using my thumb, I clicked the firestarter and placed it down on the vaseline and cotton balls. The sparks started and there was smoke! I blew on it. Then the cotton ball caught fire. I put the cotton ball in the sticks and they caught on fire. We finally made fire!

FIRST AID 

Sometimes you get hurt in the wilderness. For example, a person may fall and get cut. They could go in their first aid kit and grab a bandaid. Our instructor had a dummy named Jennifer- also my cousin’s name.  Jennifer had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. She had snake bites, two cut open arms, a big burn on the bottom of her left leg, and bee stings. We bandaged her arm. We used paper to remove the bee stinger. For an emergency allergic reaction, you have to stab them with an epi-pen in the thigh. Then we practiced bandaging each other.  

COMPASS AND WAYFINDING

On the second day of the wilderness class, we arrived and sat down to learn about compasses. A compass is a tool that helps you find your way. A compass is a circle with numbers and north, south, east, and west written around it. The red arrow points to the north. If you are lost, you can always get out your compass and navigate the rest of your way. It helps if you have a map. 

We went into the woods to try and navigate. There were numbers printed on colorful sheets of paper in the woods.  First we turned the compass so that the number is in the red box, then we found north by lining up the red arrow on our compasses. Then we walked in the direction that the white and red arrow was facing. Then, we found another point up on the hill. There was another sheet of paper with another number on it. After we used our compasses, we went back down to where we were in the first place! 

IN CONCLUSION

The things we learned about at my two-day survival class were: animals, packing a survival pack, building a fire and shelter, first aid, and using a compass. I enjoyed seeing everyone. I hope we can do another survival class together. Being in the woods is tremendously exciting!