Especialidades JA/Dirigir un viaje en la naturaleza
Aquí es donde todo ese conocimiento se usa. El campamento en la naturaleza es diferente del campamento con instalaciones y ofrece al Conquistador muchas oportunidades para practicar la dinámica de grupo, la responsabilidad y la confianza en sí mismo. Un viaje bien organizado es una alegría de experimentar, mientras que uno mal organizado puede ser una serie aparentemente interminable de contratiempos y desgracias.
Como líder, es importante que no haga todo. Los otros participantes sentirán que son simplemente equipaje y comenzarán a actuar como si no tuvieran responsabilidades. Al «hacer» en lugar de «liderar», es demasiado fácil quedar absorto en la tarea en cuestión y perder la visión general. Mientras está ocupado haciendo, otras personas terminan (o abandonan) sus tareas, y usted está demasiado ocupado para darles su próxima tarea. Más bien, usted, como líder, debería «dirigir» las actividades de los demás. Sepa qué debe hacerse a continuación y asigne a alguien que lo haga. Si tienen problemas, ayúdelos, pero no se haga cargo. Si al ayudarles se involucra demasiado, asigna a alguien más para que les ayude.
Una forma altamente efectiva de hacer esto es hacer un conjunto de tarjetas que describan cada tarea que se debe hacer al levantar (o desarmar) el campamento. Cada tarea debe ser realizada por un equipo de tres o cuatro niños con el asesoramiento y la orientación de un mentor adulto. Ordene las tareas en grupos por prioridad, de modo que las cosas que se deben hacer primero estén en un grupo, las cosas que se deben hacer en segundo lugar, y las cosas que se deben hacer en último lugar en el tercer grupo. Etiquete estos grupos A, B y C. La cantidad de tareas en cada grupo debe ser igual a la cantidad de equipos de 3 a 5 personas que estarán acampando con usted. No incluya armar las tiendas para dormir en esta lista de tareas.
Cada tarjeta también debe estar marcada con puntos que se otorgarán al equipo que complete esa tarea. Las tareas difíciles, largas o desagradables deben valer muchos puntos. A las tareas fáciles, rápidas y divertidas se les debe otorgar algunos puntos.
Before you leave for your trip, assemble the kids into teams and assign to each team an adult mentor. Each team should have a mix of kids - some who are experienced or skilled, and some who are inexperienced or have not yet developed camping skills.
Choose the teams wisely. Best friends have a tendency to goof off. When I was a teen, my brother and I had been hired by an uncle to do some farm work. When we suggested that he should also hire our other brother, he responded with this gem that I will never forget:
- "A boy's a boy, two boys are half a boy, and three boys is no boy at all."
I understand that far better now than I did when he said it. Knowing about this tendency will enable you to head it off so you don't have to work against it. Assign juniors to teens, and assign teens to adult mentors. Go over this with the teens ahead of time so that they will have an idea of what they are to teach the juniors to do as they do it. This will not only introduce the juniors to new knowledge, but it will reinforce it in your teens.
When you arrive at your camp site, instruct all Pathfinders to pitch the tents they will sleep in, and then stow their sleeping bags and personal gear in them. When they are finished with that, have them assemble near the remaining equipment. As soon as a complete team has finished pitching their tents and stowing their gear, they may choose one of the A tasks. When they finish their A task to their mentor's satisfaction, they may choose a B task. When they finish their B task, they may choose a C task. When they finish their C task, they may choose another C task if one is available (and thereby improve their point total).
Be sure to let your Pathfinders know how the points will be used ahead of time, otherwise they will not serve as an effective incentive. You could award the team with the highest number of points the privilege of being dismissed to eat first, followed by the team with the second highest number of points, etc. Console the team scoring the fewest number of points by reminding them that the staff actually eats last.
When we implemented this plan in my club we found that it made a remarkable difference in getting the kids motivated and focused on setting up the camp site. Instead of finding kids to do the tasks I was coming up with on the spot, the kids were coming to me for their assignments. Instead of goofing around and doing a poor job, they were executing their duties with enthusiasm and efficiency, and upon completion, they were eager to take on the next task.
To give you an idea of what tasks might be described on the cards, the tasks we used are listed below. Though the tasks below are suited more for "Campground camping" rather than "wilderness camping", they still give a general picture of what is to be done. Not all of these tasks are required at every camp out.
| A Tasks | Pitch kitchen shelter 10 points |
Pitch dining shelter 10 points |
Build latrine 8 points |
Sort camp chairs 5 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B Tasks | Set up tables (1 point/table) | Set up hygiene stations[1] 4 points |
Prepare dishes[2] 7 points |
Fetch water[3] 0-8 points |
| C Tasks | Put totes in kitchen[4] 5 points |
Propane equipment[5] 6 points |
Gather firewood[6] 3-7 points |
Build fire ring[7] 3 points |
- ^ Hygiene stations include the dish washing station, trash receptacle (lined with a trash bag), and possibly a hand washing station.
- ^ "Prepare dishes" includes hanging a dish line, pinning mesh bags to it (in numerical order), and sorting all the eating utensils & dishes into the mesh bags.
- ^ Points awarded for fetching water depend on how far away the water is and how much is needed.
- ^ "Put totes in kitchen" means the tubs of food, coolers, and kitchen gear (other than camp stoves and lanterns). Note that only the food needed for the first meal should be put in the kitchen unless it can be secured against invasion by "critters." Otherwise it is best to leave it in a vehicle, equipment trailer, or placed in a bear box.
- ^ Propane equipment includes the camp stove(s) and lanterns.
- ^ Points awarded for gathering firewood depend on the difficulty of the task. The task might entail nothing more than buying some at the camp store, unloading it from a trailer or vehicle, or gathering it from the woods (if permitted).
- ^ It might not be necessary to build a fire ring, in which case this task should be omitted from the deck.
Once you are happy with the cards you have come up with for your club, laminate them so that they can be reused in the future.
