More Tips:
Remind girls to take shoes off before entering the tent. It will keep the tent clearer of debris and dirt.
Use spray and aerosol bottles or cans well away from tents. The liquid can be harmful to the tent fabric and breakdown the water repellency of the tent.
Heaters and candles are unsafe! Refer to Safety Activity Checkpoints for other items that can be a danger.
Don’t store wet tents! If a tent must be taken down and rolled wet, put it up immediately when arriving home or at the next destination! It can take only a day for mold to develop and once there it is almost impossible to remove. Pitch it in the living room if necessary but make sure the tent is dry before storing it or it won’t be any good when it is next needed.
Tents must be made of flame retardant materials. Check the manufacturers tag to verify.
Encourage girls group living skills by discussing how they can arrange the tent to accommodate everyone’s belongings, adjust to different living routines, and accept individual interests and needs.
Storm lash a tent in preparation for strong winds and heavy rain. “To storm lash a small [rectangular] tent, use two lengths of rope. Run one rope from its own tent stake A to and around the tent frame at B and back to peg C. Use the other rope in the reverse direction to form a double X”. With free standing tents, run the ropes under the fly to keep the fly at its most efficient. There is a good example of storm lashing in Outdoor Education in Girl Scouting. In bad weather, it may be advisable to 'storm lash' the tent.