Tent Building

How long it’ll take:

60 minutes

What the goal is:

Campers should display independence in creating a shelter for themselves or for the group. Campers should develop awareness that the weather or external conditions can change and that this can affect their belongings.

What the objectives are:

Given tent, poles, and a tarp, campers should be able to properly set up a tent without adult assistance. When setting up a campsite, campers should be able to properly storm-proof a site for many possible scenarios including rain and wind.

What you’ll need:

• 1-2 camper tents (ask parents for access to tents the day prior)

What you’ll do:

1. Ask the campers why a shelter is important when you plan on spending significant time outdoors. Should a tent or tarp be the first thing you set up when you arrive at a campsite? Why?

2. Next, demonstrate how to set up a tent.

3. Give campers all the necessary supplies to set up their tent. Give them time to set up the tent and let them figure it out as much as possible. Do not jump in and solve problems for them that they might encounter; let them work it out for themselves when at all possible. If they are experiencing significant difficulties, ask questions that could help them get back on track, like “Are you sure that’s facing the correct way?” or “Is there anywhere else that this pole could fit instead of where you have it?”

4. Give the group time to make their “campsite” look homey. They should organize all their personal belongings, decorate their area (i.e. organize downed branches into a welcome mat, gather pine needles to make a “carpet”, etc.), completely storm-proof their site, establish an area for cooking, and establish a bear hang site. Each team will then present their tent as part of the “home and garden tour” to the rest of the group. Everyone should be on the look out for storm-proofing problems and spacing issues between various components of the campsite.

5. Come back to the phrase, “storm-proofing”, throughout the week as a way to remind the campers how they should leave their belongings. Storm-proof means it could withstand a storm and it would be totally fine, i.e. if a giant gust of wind came through, nothing would be disturbed; if it started raining, everything would be prepared for that; if an animal came through, it would find no food; etc.

6. Have everyone go inside one of the tents and play a game.*

7. Go outside the tent and take apart the tent.

8. If time permits and if they are doing well working together as a team, challenge them to set the tents up again but without speaking.** Debrief this activity fully.

*Change it up: You can play any game that you wish here, so be creative. This could be a good time for silent sit, owl eye, zen counting , or mafia.

**Change it up: Instead of not being allowed to speak, you can handicap them in different ways: blindfolds for half the group and only blindfolded people can touch the tent, no one can use their right hand, only one person can be touching the tent at a time, etc.

Durable Surfaces Tent Activity:

How long it’ll take:

15-20 minutes

What the goal is:

Campers will understand the difference between durable and non-durable surfaces.

What the objectives are:

Campers will apply LNT standards to choose a durable surface for a campsite.

What you’ll need:

Whiteboard

What you’ll do:

1. Set the scene: Imagine it's the end of a day of backpacking, and you need to decide where to set up camp. In order to follow LNT, you all need to identify if the camp sites available are durable or non-durable.

2. Ask the campers what “durable” means. Does it make more sense to travel and camp on durable or non-durable surfaces? What are some differences between durable and non-durable surfaces? (Durable surfaces can better resist and recover from impact).

3. Draw 4 different surfaces that are in your area on your whiteboard. Assign 1 group to 2 surfaces and the other group to another 2.

4. Have each group explore their surfaces and then give the other group a 'tour' of the surfaces they have chosen as durable vs. non-durable, and why they think that. Ask the group if they agree with the presenting pair. Guide the group to make sure each surface gets classified properly.

5. Set up your tent there!

Xerox Copy Campsite Game

How long it’ll take:

30 minutes

What the goal is:

Understand how to make a campsite operate well while simultaneously respecting the area.

What the objectives are:

Campers should minimize impact on and disturbance to nearby wildlife. Campers should also know how to minimize physical impact on a site, applying proper techniques to high and low impact areas.

What you’ll need:

• Paper

• Markers

• Pictures of “ideal campsites”

What you’ll do:

1. Ask the campers what they think it takes to make a great campsite. See what they come up with. See if anyone mentions the LNT principle of “Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces.” Ask the campers to describe and list what types of surfaces count as “durable”. Tell them, that after they pick a durable surface, the way to remember everything else about an ideal campsite is to remember the rule of “W”. Give them a few minutes to come up with all the words that start with “W” that they think are applicable to a good campsite selection. Teach the campers the “W’s” of spotting a good campsite: Wind, Water (at least 200 ft away), Weather, Widowmakers (avoid dead trees that could fall on a tent or person), Wisability (aka, an appropriate spot to take a 'wiz'/pee in the woods). Create a chant with your group to remember the W’s!

2. Now, divide the group into partners. They will be playing the Xerox game but with respect to ideal-looking campsites. Handout pictures of “ideal campsites” to one member of each pair. The person with the picture then has to describe it in as much detail as possible to their partner who’s trying to recreate the pictures on a piece of paper starting from scratch. Give them 5-10 minutes to complete this.

3. Have them compare the “Xerox” copy to the original and see what’s missing or what’s different. Have the pairs do a mini debrief focused on how their communication was how they can improve it for the next round.

4. Switch drawer and describer roles within the partners and hand out new pictures of “ideal campsites”. Give them 5-10 minutes to complete this.

5. Do a mini debrief focusing on how they improved between rounds, what approaches to communication worked well, what didn’t work well, and what they can take from this and apply to the remainder of the week at camp.

6. Divide the group into small groups and challenge them to find the best campsite in the area (set boundaries).

7. Once groups have found their sites, have them show the rest of the group their campsites and share why they selected it.