Would you be able to respond to a medical emergency without access to a hospital or ambulance —be it on a remote wilderness trip, backcountry skiing, a city in crisis, or in an airplane?
Wilderness medicine training enables individuals to deal with medical emergencies when dialing 911 is not an option. Traditional training assumes that an ambulance will arrive on scene very quickly, with highly trained personnel and their equipment. But in the wilderness, your own actions may be the only medical care the patient receives for several hours or longer. Knowing what to do, and how to improvise with the items you have at hand is critical.
Chewonki, located in Wiscasset, is sponsoring a Wilderness Advanced First Aid Course January 3-6 and a Wilderness First Responder Bridge Course January 7-10. Students may enroll in both courses to become certified as a Wilderness First Responder.
Wilderness Medical Associates® is the leader in medical training for outdoor educators, guides, SAR team members, and others who work or play in remote areas. The curriculum is comprehensive and practical, including all of the essential principles and skills required to assess and manage medical problems in isolated and extreme environments.
Graduates will receive WAFA or WFR certification by Wilderness Medical Associates®, valid for three years, as well as Basic Life Support/ CPR and anaphylaxis certification.
Professional instructors from Wilderness Medical Associates®, the leader in wilderness and rescue medical training, will address these issues and more. The instructors are practicing medical professionals with substantial backcountry resumes.
Classes are fast-paced with an emphasis on practical skills. Mornings are devoted to lectures while afternoons are spent outside doing hands-on learning exercises. Realistic simulations, complete with fake wounds and stage blood, will be conducted. All simulations will be video taped and debriefed for enhanced learning.
Graduates from this course will have the knowledge and skills to understand what to do in a medical emergency and the confidence to do it.
Each course costs $430 and includes all course materials, room and board is also availble for an additional cost. For more information or to register for this course please contact: Greg Shute, Vice President at Chewonki Foundation (207) 882-7323 and trips@chewonki.org.
Call toll-free, 888/WILDMED or log on to www.wildmed.com for detailed course description and information about wilderness medicine.
Latest News
Let’s Talk about Ticks
Greetings from the Chewonki Health Center!
As we gear up for another exciting summer here on Chewonki Neck I wanted to take the time to let you know about our efforts to guard against ticks.
Our Tick Prevention Efforts at Chewonki:
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- All of our counselors and camp staff receive thorough and thoughtful training regarding ticks and the illnesses that they may carry.
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- We have enhanced vigilance including daily “tick checks” using the buddy system, mirrors, frequent showers after being out in brushy wooded areas, and encouraging the use of bug repellent.
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- Health Center staff are well trained in how to safely remove an embedded tick and follow a strict protocol to monitor anyone who may have been bitten.
- If our health staff have any concerns about a tick bite, follow up care may include a visit to a local clinic, and if recommended by a doctor, sending the tick to the University of Maine for identification. Parents will be notified if their child has been bitten by a tick.
You Can Help:
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- Educate your camper on being “tick smart” while away from home to use caution in tick likely areas such as wearing long pants and tucking them into socks.
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- Send your camper with insect repellent clothing such as insectshield, llbean, or other clothing treated with permethrin.
- Send your camper with a bug repellant that contains deet. This link from the EPA has some information to help you choose the right repellant for your family.
Harlem Children’s Zone Kicks off the Spring Season
Harlem Children’s Zone Students do Service Learning Project with Outdoor Classroom Instructor, Adam Williams
Six high school students from the Harlem Children’s Zone “Learn to Earn” Program in New York City kicked off the Outdoor Classroom residential program this spring. This warm, energetic, and fun-loving group not only participated in the Outdoor Classroom program, but also interacted with Semester School students during meals, work program, outdoor recreation time, and even a Saturday night bake-off! An energetic group of amazing individuals, these students quickly endeared themselves to the entire Chewonki community. Everyone wished that they could have stayed longer!
October: Off to a Great Start
The Kipp School arrived yesterday, ready to start their Chewonki adventure. After meeting their students, Chewonki instructors beamed with excitement. I even overheard two leaders playfully bantering with each other over who was going to have more fun this week.
A delightful group of Pittston students also arrived yesterday, playing a school-wide game of tag to get their day program started. With gorgeous fall weather, some students challenged themselves climbing in the barn, while others crossed the gulch with a challenge similar to a zip-line.
Although some drizzle covered up yesterday’s sun, our instructors were equally excited about the arrival of the International School of Boston this morning. Eager sixth graders arrived safely, divided into groups, ate lunch, and they are now heading out to their campsites for the evening.
I got great reports from the Kipp School about their night. Some teachers remarked that students woke up out of their tents this morning energized and eager to start their first full day here.
In Maine there is 100% Chance of Weather
While visiting groups around campus we spotted a nature inspired birthday crown, students intrigued by a species of mushroom and 4 different group challenges simultaneously running on the lower field. These are just a few insights into all the events happening today with the Outdoor Classroom.
Due to a forecast of high winds later tonight all groups are spending the night in “town”. Town is what we call the area of campus where all of the buildings are, including the Center for Environmental Education and the summer camp cabins. Tents were traded for cabins and all groups are in high spirits with the added adventure of moving locations.
Is it Really 75 Degrees Out?
It sure is! The Edgecomb Eddy 6th graders arrived early this morning wearing giant smiles. They were bursting with questions! “When can we go to the camp site?” “Can we chop wood today?” “Is the gulch crossing tomorrow or the next day?” After they met up with their Chewonki instructors all of their questions were answered and they started right in with outdoor living skills. Instructors noted that the potential rain we may get will just add to the adventure, and the students seemed to agree.
Our second group to arrive was the Merriconeag Waldorf 5th graders from Freeport, ME. They seemed quite thrilled to be on another camping trip with their class. The rumor is that even though we are approaching October, students brought swim suits and were planning on jumping in the water! We’ll wait and see.
Cape Cod Academy students were all over the Chewonki peninsula today. Groups were climbing in the barn, crossing the gulch, learning about renewable energy and exploring in the woods with their new map and compass skills. Tonight the whole class will get a chance to socialize and compare experiences at a BBQ. Everyone will also enjoy a night presentation with live owls from our Traveling Natural History Program.
Fog
Cape Cod Academy 8th graders arrived safely on Tuesday to a little bit of sun poking through a typical Maine foggy sky. They are a friendly group and seemed genuinely excited to have arrived. After a tour of campus, they had lunch in their small groups and headed out to set up camp. The evening was damp, but only with fog and an occasional light rain. It was lovely to see the Cape teachers – two of whom are seasoned Chewonki veterans! Weather looks good for Wednesday!
Full Moon Lunacy
Tonight is the full moon, and if you don’t believe the legend that it makes people a little “luny,” then you should have visited campus today! There was much silliness all around and laughter and singing could be heard on every corner of Chewonki Neck.
I visited with some Rocky Hill students this afternoon who report that macaroni and cheese is the favorite meal of the week. They had spent the morning out exploring the “Neck” on the Map and Compass lesson.
The Mast Landing and Harpswell 5th graders are all doing a wonderful job of being here for 4 full days! For many, it is their first time away from home for so long, and not one student has gone home due to homesickness! Woo Hoo!
Two groups from Nashoba did a service project on the farm today pulling and processing carrots for winter storage. Thanks girls! I hear from one instructor that there is a dance-off planned for tonight!
On this final night of camping for the week groups will reflect upon their experiences around the small groups’ campfire. I am looking forward to hearing what everyone is taking away with them – I am sure parents are eager to hear the same things!
Autumnal Equinox, Waxing Moon
On this official first day of fall campus is absolutely abuzz with activity. Instructors and teachers from all of the schools visiting this week reported a breezy but beautiful evening at campsites last night. The waxing moon, headed toward full on Thursday, lit up the night sky and reflected magically on the surface of the water.
When I arrived on campus this morning, the first thing I heard was “Zowie, zowie, chin, chang, chowie . . .” emanating from the woods. Sure enough, a group of laughing and singing Mast Landing 5th graders emerged from the trail seconds later. They were making up new verses to the song and having a blast at it! They spent the day exploring the salt marsh, checking out our skins and skulls for an animal study lesson, and going canoeing.
Instructors working with Nashoba Brooks students unanimously agree that this year’s 8th grade class is fun, eager to be here, and open to the experience of camping out. I observed one of their groups doing a great job of pushing themselves in the barn climb, our indoor ropes course. At lunch time today the entire class enjoyed a live “Owls of Maine” presentation in the Center for Environmental Education – I could hear the owls hooting from my office! This afternoon one group of Nashoba students is doing a service project weeding garden beds at the farm – their help is much appreciated!
I caught up with one of the Rocky Hill groups just after lunch today. They told me about their adventures on the water yesterday. They had a fantastic day in canoes and visited an island way up in the salt marsh. Tonight that group’s instructor is challenging the students to use their new outdoor cooking skills to make dinner without any help from the teacher or Chewonki instructor – I’m sure they’re up for it! Other Rocky Hill groups report equally fun days. When they arrived, the Rocky Hill teachers told us that this was a very nice class – it is true indeed!
Harpswell students spent the day learning about the history of the land here at Chewonki – exploring stone walls, shell middens, the old brick yard, the Pine-Apple forest, the old foundation, and much more. They also went canoeing and explored the salt marsh. Tonight they are coming in to the Center for Environmental Education after cooking dinner for a live “Scales and Tales” presentation. They’ll have the chance to meet our alligator and some other exciting reptiles!
We had a 15-minute rain shower at lunch today, but despite the official start of fall, the forecast is calling for lighter winds tonight and a mostly sunny and warm day tomorrow.
9 Ospreys and a Turkey Vulture
The Mast Landing and Harpswell Island School 5th graders as well as the Nashoba Brooks 8th graders arrived safely today. During their introductory tour Mast Landing students were treated to a rare sighting of a “flock” of ospreys flying overhead. These magnificent birds don’t usually fly in large groups, but one excited student reported counting 9 all together! Could the osprey migration, which is listed to begin mid-October, be happening a little early this year? This morning, while waiting for buses to arrive, the Outdoor Classroom instructors and I also watched what looked to be a turkey vulture riding the thermals way up high in the sky – lovely!
Rocky Hill students had a chilly first night last night, but all instructors reported that students are doing well and enjoyed the warmth of the breakfast cooking fires. The forecast calls for warmer nights the rest of the week. They spent the day today canoeing, climbing in the barn, and doing our “gulch” raving crossing.
The front porch of the Center for Environmental Education is alive with the hustle and bustle of fitting packs and rearranging gear. As late afternoon approaches, students are beginning to make their way out to campsites for what is sure to be a fun evening of outdoor cooking and songs and stories around the campfire!