Hiking, camping and orienteering are great skills for girls who love the outdoors and want to boost their independence and confidence. Even with the best safety planning, though, it's possible to get lost while exploring the wilderness. Prepare girls to take care of themselves by equipping them with a wilderness survival guide. Being prepared will help them keep their heads in an emergency situation and increase their chances of returning to civilization unharmed.
Identification
Wilderness survival training consists of lessons on how to survive if one is lost in the wilderness, according to Wilderness Survival.net. The first step in a survival situation is to identify your assets and liabilities. Examine all of your equipment, the resources available in your surroundings, and your physical condition and that of anyone with you. Before heading out into the wilderness, girls can practice identifying assets and liabilities in small groups. Have the groups list their equipment, what's available in the immediate area, and the condition each of them is in, and explain why each is an asset or a liability in a survival situation.
Time Frame
Teaching girls about time frames for survival can help them keep calm in a crisis by immediately prioritizing their needs, according to the British Columbia Outdoor Wilderness Guide. Safety is the primary concern in wilderness survival. Once girls are clear of immediate emergencies or safety threats, they should next deal with any injuries, particularly if they are severe. Next, cold and/or wet conditions should be addressed, as these can cause dangerous hypothermia. Once girls are warm and dry, they can consider how to obtain water, food and a way out of the wilderness.
Geography
Different survival skills are required for different climates and types of terrain, according to Wilderness Survival.net. When training girls for wilderness survival, keep in mind what types of wilderness they will be exploring and the particular challenges they will face. For example, to survive in hot areas, girls need to protect themselves from the sun and avoid eating if water is scarce as water is required for digestion. For girls in cold climates, on the other hand, keeping themselves warm and dry is a paramount concern.
Considerations
Practice with basic survival skills before the girls enter wilderness areas can help girls survive in the wilderness, according to the British Columbia Outdoor Wilderness Guide. Discuss, demonstrate and have the girls practice building fires, including fires in damp and windy conditions. Also, practice building shelters from local materials that would be appropriate to the needs of someone trying to survive in that area's climate. For instance, practice building a lean-to from leafy branches when the weather is warm, and shelters dug into the snow when it is cold. Also, make sure the girls have been trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. Your local Red Cross chapter may offer CPR and first aid classes.
Benefits
Wilderness survival training for girls offers not only an opportunity for girls to stay alive. According to U.S. Marines Lance Cpl. Abigail M. Wharton, survival training also gives girls a chance to develop self-confidence as they learn to care for themselves and others even when alone in a harsh environment. Once girls have learned basic survival skills, they may wish to participate in a "drop-off hike." In these hikes, girls are dropped off at an agreed-upon wilderness location and must spend the night using their wilderness survival skills to make themselves comfortable. Choose a night with good weather and a place where girls will be safe, such as at a girls' camp.
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