Campers vs Wild

On the week of August 1-6, campers age 10-12 participated in Darke County Parks’ Campers vs. Wild summer camp. The goal of this camp was to teach campers how to survive if they were ever lost in the wilderness. They were shown several methods for the necessities and then practiced many of these when we “dropped them in the woods” for a “survival” overnight experience!

On Monday campers learned how to use primitive tools in order to make a fire. Various techniques were discussed and then practiced, including 18^th century style Flint and Steel, bow drill, 9volt battery and modern flint/steels. All campers were taught that fire can be very dangerous, but is also a needed and useful tool. By the end of the week, all campers were able to make fire using their own modern fire steel!

The second day of camp, campers learned how to gather water from a stream by using materials found around them. They practiced using whatever they could find, in this case, litter that many of them would have either ignored or picked up to throw away. This made gathering water a lot easier than using their hands many campers stated. They also learned the importance of boiling water after it was collected so that it could become more drinkable. They were taught that while boiling the water will help make the water safer to drink, a water filter of some sort is required to remove many other contaminates. Campers were also taught how to use an orienteering compass; they were given a basic understanding of how it worked and were then tested by doing a quick compass course which lead them all over the grounds of Shawnee Prairie.

On Wednesday campers learned how to make a debris shelter out of the natural materials found around them. Their goal was to make a small shelter that was just big enough for one of the two team members to fit into and that would keep them dry during a rain storm and warm from the evening chill. Many campers enjoyed this, even if they were donating blood to the mosquitoes at the same time! Several of the campers created quite the cozy shelters!

Thursday night campers arrived around 6:00 pm and were then “dropped” in the wilderness with staff. Upon entry of the wilderness it was discussed that because we were in a mock survival situation, we must find a camp site, set up shelter, gather water and get a fire going. Campers were split into small teams that would then delegate the camp chores out to one another. After they all worked on their own camp site for a short while, staff split the groups up for various chores with a representative from each team assisting in the needed goals of the team. Campers had build their shelter, and collect water (which was not consumed) and had to gather dry fire materials (which was hard due to an early am rain!). Once they returned to camp, their water was placed at the fire, their fire pits were dug and they finished working on their shelter. As darkness drew near, the staff had a surprise for campers… a nice warm meal cooked over the fire! Many campers were happy they wouldn’t have to spend the night gathering grubs and other critters for food! By the time darkness hit, all teams had their shelters completed and their bedding material ready for the night. After some ‘scary’ stories from a wandering Longhunter, the campers readied themselves for bed… they were worn out!

After a camp breakfast, campers were set to work gathering up their belongings and returning the camp site to its natural look by dismantling their shelters. Shortly thereafter, campers were picked up by their parents and returned home (and probably their comfy beds!).

For more information on camps and activities that Darke County Parks offers please go to http://darkecountyparks.org, or call us at: 937-548-0165.