Weather
You are doing OLS when the light rain above turns into a downpour. There are no lightning alerts, but the rain is getting heavier and heavier. What steps do you take?
Collect all students, being sure to get a headcount. Move them indoors and communicate with leadership and team members via radio for next steps.
A camper reports an unknown insect bite. They are experiencing pain and redness around the bite, with minor local swelling, about the size of a quarter. What do you do?
1) Ask the child what area they were in when the sting or bite happened (near a wasp nest, by an ant pile, doing aquatics??) to help narrow down what may have caused it.
2) Inspect the area for any obvious stingers
3) Offer the child topical treatment like calagel (topical diphenhydramine), or insect bite cream
4) Monitor the child for any signs of progression like increased swelling, hives, trouble breathing. Notify their parent or teacher about the bite or sting.
Right before being hooked in, a student claims they are really nauseous but still want to climb. How do you assess their readiness to participate?
Determine whether the nausea nerves or potentially illness related.
If it is nerves, talk them through the steps of the element, reassuring that everything they do it 100% safe. Encourage them to try, but don't push them into the panic zone.
If you suspect it is illness related, encourage them to drink a bit of water and rest before trying the activity. Notify their chaperone/teacher to help keep an eye on the student. If the student is truly sick (stomach bug, food poisoning, etc) being on top of the power pole is not the best place for them to be!
You are at a campsite when you hear children screaming excitedly about a dog. When you investigate, you see there is a loose dog wandering the campsite, it looks mangy and is baring its teeth at approaching campers. What do you do?
Firmly instruct all campers to move away from the animal and indoors. Contact leadership via radio, using clear details about the animal's behavior and its location.
Keep campers away from the area until the animal leaves or is removed.
The power at camp goes out over the weekend after some storms. News reports say it should be back on within the next hour. Two hours go by and the power has not been restored. What do you do?
Touch base with leadership regarding animal safety and housing. If it is extremely cold or hot outdoors and the internal temperature of the herpetology building is a concern, generators may need to be accessed.
You are leading a canoeing session and receive a lightning alert from weatherbug on your phone, oh no! What are your next steps?
Immediately remove all participants from the water and move to an indoor location. Notify other staff members via groupme and/or radio channels.
It is a hot day and you've been doing a lot of physical activities with your group. One student is dragging behind and complaining of headache and dizziness. They appear pale and clammy and are sweating excessively. What do you identify this as and what are your next steps?
A participant's harness appears to be improperly adjusted mid-climb. What steps do you take?
Instruct them to pause. Assess from the ground the extent of the adjustment issue. If it poses immediate danger, prioritize getting them down safely. Alert other staff members to assist if necessary. Readjust the harness as soon as possible and double check it again.
You are leading an activity when you realize you are a camper short. No one has seen little Timmy for the past several minutes. What do you do?
1) Conduct immediate headcount
2) Assign staff to supervise unaffected campers and have someone stay at the missing camper's last known location. Search this area and nearby locations.
3) If near water, check water immediately. If camper is missing for more than 10 minutes, notify leadership to begin a more thorough search.
You are entering the winter season and note that next week's evening temperatures will all be well below freezing. What steps should be taken?
Outdoor animals should be provided with access to water, whether that involves heating it or adding beet juice. The pigeon coop shutters can be closed to better retain heat, and ophelia should be moved indoors.
All hoses should be disconnected and left to drip, and maintenance should be contacted to disconnect rain water hand pump.
Explain the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning. Describe how you would notify camp staff via the radio of a tornado warning.
Watch - The conditions for a tornado are present but have not yet created one.
Warning - tornadoes have been spotted in the area.
“This is [Name] to Camp Allen Staff, Code Yellow [warning or watch] has been issues for the property until [time]. Repeating, Code Yellow [warning or watch] has been issued for the property until [time].”
During OLS, a student trips over a log and twists their ankle. They are crying out in pain and claim to not be able to put any weight on it. What do you do?
Pause the activity to ensure no other injuries occur while your attention is off the other students. Examine the ankle to look for any signs of bruising or swelling. Ask the student if they are able to turn/twist the ankle. Provide them with an ice or cold pack and have them rest.
Contact leadership to notify of the incident and arrange for transportation if the student doesn't improve. If you suspect a severe sprain or fracture, leadership will arrange to contact parents.
You are harnessing participants for a high ropes course (think adventure summit, giant swing, or zipline) when you notice a participant that appears to be well over the safe weight limit. What is the max weight limit for these elements, and how do you approach the situation?
The maximum weight limit for all of our ropes courses is 250 lbs.
Kindly and privately inform the guest that there is a weight limit for this activity due to safety reasons. If the guest becomes argumentative, remain calm and steady in your insistence that it is both a manufacturer and camp policy that you have no power to change, and that going against safety recommendations can cause accident or injury.
You notice a suspicious person on the property who is not a part of the group you are working with and they are givin ya wEIRD vibes. What should you do?
Notify leadership via radio or private message so as not to alarm guests. Observe the person from a safe distance. If their behavior is concerning or progresses (ex they are following your group, acting strung out, or you suspect they could have a weapon) do not engage.
Ensure campers are moved to a safe location and contact leadership or front desk to call authorities or send male staff members until authorities arrive.
During the start of a night activity, you hear over the radio that a camper was left behind at the campsite alone. What steps should you take?
1) Notify leadership immediately if they have not already responded on the radio.
2) Maintain safeguarding. Ensure the proper amount of adults are left with the group and that more than one adult is sent to retrieve the camper who is alone.
3) Conduct a headcount of the rest of the group to ensure no one else was left or forgotten. Remember next time to take head counts before leaving!
You are facilitating a high ropes activity when you notice the weather looks a little iffy. You haven't received any lightning alerts or messages from leadership, but the weather radar shows some storms 15 miles away moving your direction. What is your response?
Contact leadership and keep an eye on the weather. Be prepared to shut down the activity if there is lightning within 10 miles!
During a low ropes activity, two students collided while on the whale watch, bumping their heads together with a lot of force. One student is holding the back of their head crying, while the other student has already begun to form a large goose egg on the front of their head (and is also crying, duh). The other students are still shuffling around the platform. What do you do?
Immediately freeze the activity, instructing students to safely step off the element one at a time. If you can, separate the rest of the group from the injured students so they don't crowd them, ensuring adults are with both groups. Examine both students for any open wounds. Contact leadership about the incident, as head injuries will require reports.
The nearest first aid is at the pavilion. Make sure both students have ice packs and monitor them for signs of concussion. If necessary, have an adult transport them back to the campsite for monitoring. If they display signs of concussion, ensure parents are contacted immediately.
A coworker who was complaining of light headedness earlier in the day is belaying when they lose their footing and fall over. They haven't let go of their brake hand and jump back up, claiming they are fine, but seem shaken. What do you do?
Encourage them to take a break. If they are mid-belaying a participant and you are able to, assist them as a second brake until the participant is off of their rope, then take over for them. If you are not able to because you are also actively belaying, you may need to calmly instruct the participant to come back down or recruit another team member or adult to assist in braking.
Inform leadership to ask for backup if need be. If the coworker is having a medical episode, it is not safe for them to belay participants.
Two campers get into a physical fight with each other during an activity, and you are the only adult present. What do you do?
Radio leadership and nearby staff for assistance. "This is [name] to discovery, I have a camper fight situation at [location] and need backup immediately"
Use a firm voice to command both campers to stop. Do not physically intervene until help arrives unless necessary to prevent immediate harm.
Separate campers and evaluate for physical injury. Treat any injuries and create a report of the incident. Inform teachers/parents of the incident as soon as possible.
During your afternoon activities, you notice a student that was previously very engaged has suddenly become withdrawn. After fruitless attempts to get them to participate, you ask if anything happened to make them not want to do the activities. They inform you that during free time, another one of the students touched them inappropriately. What do you do?
Remain calm and reassure/thank the student for being honest with you. There are many correct ways to respond to this scenario, but generally you should:
- listen carefully and calmly
- take the report seriously
- inform management
- ensure safety (do not allow the other student to be near them and ensure no students are left unsupervised)
- document the incident
- maintain confidentiality
1) Secure all outdoor equipment like canoes and garden trellises, move anything smaller like chairs and archery equipment indoors.
2) Make arrangements for animals if necessary, ensuring their safety onsite or offsite if need be.
3) Inventory and prepare emergency supplies.
You are playing a game of cities when a student runs up to you in distress, exclaiming their partner fell down and is shaking. When you run over, you realize the student is having an active seizure. What do you do?
Remain calm and immediately radio discovery staff to shut down the game and bring all other students and non-essential adults (most chaperones) back to the campsite, and ask leadership to respond to your location. Do not leave the student. Ask the chaperones or teachers if this student has a history of seizures or epilepsy (ideally would have been reported on forms but sometimes people omit things!)
Ensure there is nothing around the student that might harm them. Time the seizure. When possible and especially if they begin foaming or excessively salivating at the mouth, turn them onto their left side in a recovery position to keep their airway clear. Do not insert anything into their mouth.
If the seizure lasts longer than 5 minutes, or if the student does not regain consciousness after the seizure has ended or another seizure begins, call 911 or make a STAT call.
While facilitating a high ropes activity, there is an equipment malfunction that causes the participant to fall. You suspect a potential spinal injury. What are your steps?
1) Ensure the scene is safe - radio call to other available staff to secure the area and remove other participants from the scene.
2) Stabilize the head and neck
3) Assess ABCs: airway, breathing, circulation. Are they responsive? Look for any signs of bleeding or spinal fluid. Do not attempt to move the participant.
4) Make a STAT call if not already done. Remain with participant, keeping them safe and stable until help arrives. An incident must be filled out, take note of time, conditions, and cause.
You are at the CS1 septic field playing a game when a code blue is called over the radio. What is a code blue and what steps do you take?
Code blue is an active shooter scenario.
RUN: Evacuate the outdoor area.
HIDE:Calmly but urgently gather all of the students, moving them to a safe location to hide (like the grove lodge), taking a head count. Silence any phones, lock all doors and windows, and take students into the central most room, turning off all lights and sitting silently. Keep students calm and reassure them.
FIGHT: Remember: as a last resort, and only when life is in imminent danger, attempt to disarm or disrupt.
During your activities throughout the week, the chaperone assigned to your group has been taking and posting photo updates of the school's trip. On the last day of their trip, you have your group at herpetology when a stranger shows up, claiming to be the father of one of the students. You ask the student if this is his father and she says yes, but she looks frightened.
The man then instructs the student to come with him, stating he needs to check her out early for a family emergency. The student resists, and the man starts to become more agitated. What do you do?
This is a potential custody/domestic dispute, and has the potential to progress to a code blue. You are unsure if the man has a weapon, but it's clear from his actions that he isn't supposed to be here.
Remain calm. Firmly instruct the man that you are in the middle of the class, and that the student must be signed out by an authorized guardian before leaving and that a manager will need to be contacted in order to do so. At this point, radio call a code blue at the herpetology building, trying not to tip off the man as to what that is (turn your radio volume off after to avoid this!).
Don't let the student out of your sight. In order to get the other students out of harms way, you can send them for a "bathroom break' at the discovery building with the chaperone.
If the man becomes more agitated, belligerent, or attempts to take the child by force, follow full code blue steps, escalating your call to high alert.
Remember that it is better to be safe than sorry. Do not be afraid to call a code blue if you suspect they could have a weapon or intend harm.