Success StoryOutdoor Survival



Outdoor Survival

Author: Patrick Allen

Planning Unit: 4-H Central Operations

Major Program: 4-H Agriculture Core Curriculum AND Natural Resources

Plan of Work: Environmental Education

Outcome: Intermediate Outcome

Childhood obesity still stands to be a concern with our young people. Video games are taking over, and preventing youth from learning basic skills needed to take care of them selves. More youth are staying at home after graduation, and youth are lacking the competence to "fend for themselves". It is important for youth to participate in activities that get them off the couch and out of the house. It is just as important that they be given opportunities to think for themselves, work though their own problems with critical thinking. It is said that the current generation of youth spends, on average seven minutes a day to unstructured outdoor play/ recreation. The outdoor survival curriculum I am currently working on incorporates physical activity as well as creative thinking. It allows youth to take simple items and create one of three basic human needs (food, water, shelter). Throughout the program year I have thought this outdoor curriculum with several groups. Events such as, teen summit, environmental camps and county day camps. I have continued to working with the outdoor living instructors at two of the four camps to train them on the curriculum. During these lessons youth learn how to create fair with basic tools and primitive methods. They learn how to construct a shelter with simple yet strong equipment, while working together as a team. They learn to cook in the outdoors using different methods. Finally they learn a few survival tricks, such as using a solar still to create water or navigating with a compass. These lessons help youth with their confidence, team building skills, creative thinking, and leadership development. The program has increased in interest, giving me the opportunity to add new ideas or try new things with each group I teach. Youth have responded positively with the activities, and report learning a least one new skill after each lesson. Youth report that having more confidence in surviving in the outdoors. After the young girls appeared on the news after being rescued in the woods and contributing their success and survival to 4-H, it has made it clear that youth have the drive to survive, they just need to the skills to survive.  






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