John Roil, bush safety

On the 15th of April we had a special guest come to room 17 to teach us about bush safety, his name was John Roil. John has spent some time in the territorial force and the regular force so he is very experienced with living outdoors.

Before you go tramping there are a few rules you need to know. First you should contact at least two people and tell them you're going outdoors and what time you should be back in case of an emergency. By telling two people you have to remember to ring them as soon as you get back in case they think you're lost. Another rule is to train for your walk instead of just acting like you can handle it. A way to help with your training is to wear woollen socks, two pairs will still give you blisters but woollen socks are supposed to prevent blisters from happening. Talking about suitable clothes wear some comfortable shoes that have adjusted to your feet. For your legs you should wear some nice warm pants with shorts overtop. Finally the last part  of your dress code, you need a thermal singlet with a short sleeve t-shirt overtop.

When you’re packing your home away from home bag always remember to pack your sleeping gear at the bottom of your bag. On top of that you have a torch, water, batteries, lighter, food, warm clothes, a tent, and a beanie. Next in your bag is the easy to reach appliances such as: drink bottle, wet weather gear, and extra space to put on or take off clothes.  

There are some outdoor rules that you need to follow to stay safe outside. STAR is one of the most important rules, STAR stands for Stop, Think, Asses, Respond. Another rule is avoiding certain types of plants that could harm you. Those plants are stinging nettle and bush lawyer. Last but not least when needing to stop make sure the whole group stops or if you have gone too far off the track stay put don’t go wandering around thinking you know the way back it could cause more trouble.