Into the Outdoors: Risk, Navigation and Leadership

You need: risk cards (steep track, wet rocks, strong wind, rising river, low tide rocks, darkness, tired walker, no phone signal, sunburn) · a large three-step ladder drawn on paper: low, medium, high

1. Choose your trip context and pick the eight cards that fit it.
2. As a group, place each card on the ladder: how likely is it, and how bad could it be?
3. Now draw a 'change card': heavy rain arrives, it gets late, someone twists an ankle, or the group is slower than planned. Move the cards that change.
4. For the three highest risks, write one way to make each one smaller (for example, turn back at 1 pm, wear sunscreen, stay out of the river).
5. Think about the group: which risks are bigger for someone younger, slower, anxious or with asthma?

How you'll know: You can show how one change can move several risks up the ladder, and suggest a way to reduce each high risk.

Go further: Add a 'who decides?' column: which risks can each person manage, and which need a group or adult decision?

You need: a thermometer · a cloud chart · a simple wind scale (smoke, leaves, branches, trees) · a weather diary · access to the MetService forecast

1. Go outside at the same time each day. Record temperature, cloud type and amount, and wind using the clues on the wind scale.
2. Write how it feels: warm, cool, raw, muggy.
3. Check the forecast for today and tomorrow. Was yesterday's forecast right?
4. Look for signs of change: clouds thickening and lowering, wind swinging round, a sudden drop in temperature.
5. After two weeks, look back. What signs came before the rainy days?

How you'll know: You can read a forecast, spot at least two signs that the weather is changing, and explain what they would mean on a trip.

Safety: Never look directly at the sun. Wear a hat and sunscreen outside in spring and summer.

Go further: Compare the forecast for your town with a mountain or coastal forecast on the same day, and explain the difference.

You need: five identical glass jars with lids · warm tap water (not boiling) · thermometers · squares of woollen fabric, cotton T-shirt fabric, fleece and a raincoat · a spray bottle · a small fan · a timer

1. Fill each jar with the same amount of warm tap water and record the starting temperature.
2. Wrap the jars: dry wool, wet wool, wet cotton, wet cotton with a raincoat layer over the top, and one jar with nothing.
3. Put all the jars in front of the fan to act as wind.
4. Record each temperature every 5 minutes for 25 minutes.
5. Graph the results. Which jar lost heat fastest? Which kept it best even when wet?
6. Use the results to explain why wet cotton is a bad idea outdoors and why a windproof, waterproof layer matters.

How you'll know: You can use your data to explain how wind and water speed up heat loss and how layers slow it down.

Safety: Use warm tap water only, never boiling. Mop up spills straight away and keep the fan cord away from water.

Go further: Test merino against polyester fleece, or two thin layers against one thick layer. Keep everything else the same.

You need: a daypack · a pile of real items: rain jacket, warm top, hat, gloves, water bottle, snacks, lunch, torch, small first aid kit, map, whistle, sunscreen, sunhat, spare socks, a phone in a bag, plus some things you don't need (a cotton hoodie, a big speaker, a pillow, a glass jar) · a checklist

1. In pairs, pack the day pack for your trip context and a forecast your teacher gives you.
2. For every item, say why it goes in or stays out.
3. Pack it well: heavy things close to your back, rain jacket on top, everything that must stay dry in a plastic bag.
4. Now change the forecast (cold southerly, hot and sunny, a water section). What changes in the pack?
5. Lift and walk with the pack. Is it comfortable? Adjust the straps.

How you'll know: Your pack holds all the essentials for the conditions, nothing unnecessary, and you can explain each choice.

Go further: Write a gear list for a whānau member who has never been tramping, with low-cost or borrowed options.

You need: cones · a blindfold or scarf · hoops or mats as 'stepping stones' · role cards (leader, navigator, timekeeper, weather watcher, first aider, tail-ender)

1. Hand out role cards. Everyone has a job.
2. Challenge 1: guide a blindfolded 'injured' teammate along a cone route using only voices.
3. Challenge 2: get the whole group across a 'river' of stepping stones with fewer stones than people. No one gets left behind.
4. Challenge 3: the navigator leads the group to a spot on the school map within a time limit.
5. Swap roles between challenges.
6. Debrief after each challenge: what did the leader do that helped? Who noticed if someone was struggling?

How you'll know: You can describe what each role does and give an example of when you supported someone else in your group.

Safety: Blindfolded walkers move slowly on flat grass, with a spotter beside them. Anyone can take the blindfold off at any time.

Go further: Lead the debrief yourself, using questions rather than telling people what they did.

You need: baseplate compasses (one per pair) · a simple map of the school grounds with a scale · control markers (coloured cards with a letter punch or crayon) · a clipboard and control card

1. Orient (set) your map: turn it until the buildings on the map line up with the real ones.
2. Learn your pace count: walk 100 m and count every second step.
3. Take a bearing: point the direction-of-travel arrow at a target, turn the housing until the red needle sits inside the orienting arrow, and read the number.
4. Follow the course card: each leg gives a bearing and a distance. Walk it, find the control and mark your card.
5. Finish by designing one leg of your own for another pair to follow.

How you'll know: You find most controls using the map, the compass and your pace count, and you can explain how you corrected when you went wrong.

Safety: Stay inside the agreed boundary, walk in pairs, and come back to base when you hear the whistle.

Go further: Design a full orienteering course for a younger class, with a map and control descriptions.

You need: a topographic map extract of your trip area (Topo50 from LINZ or topomap.co.nz) · string · a ruler · coloured pencils · a route-planning template

1. Mark the start, the finish and any places you must reach.
2. Lay string along the track, then measure it against the scale bar to find the distance.
3. Look at the contour lines: mark steep uphill sections, flat sections and downhill sections.
4. Estimate time: a school group on a good track walks about 2–3 km an hour on the flat. Add time for steep climbs, rest stops and lunch.
5. Mark a turnaround time: the time you turn back even if you haven't reached the end.
6. Mark entry and exit points and an escape route: road ends, beach access, a bridge, the nearest shelter. For water sections, mark where you can safely get in and out of the water.

How you'll know: Your route shows distance, time, stops, a turnaround time, and entry, exit and escape points that someone else could follow.

Go further: Check your time estimate on the day and work out your group's real walking speed.

You need: a tarp or large groundsheet per group · pre-cut lengths of cord · tent pegs · a watering can · trees, a fence or poles

1. Look at the wind: which way is it blowing? Plan to put the low side of the shelter into the wind.
2. Tie a ridge line between two trees or posts using a simple knot your teacher shows you.
3. Drape the tarp over the line and peg or weigh down the edges.
4. Get everyone inside. Is there room? Are you off the wet ground?
5. Test it: one person uses the watering can as rain. Where does water get in? Fix it.

How you'll know: Your shelter keeps the group dry and out of the wind, and you can explain where you put it and why.

Safety: No knives: use pre-cut cord. Check for dead branches overhead before building under trees. Keep the watering can gentle.

Go further: Build a shelter with only what is in your day pack: a rain jacket, a pack liner and some cord.

You need: scenario cards · a small first aid kit · crepe bandages · a survival blanket or spare warm layers · a phone (not switched on) to practise a 111 call

1. Learn DRSABCD: Danger, Response, Send for help, Airway, Breathing, CPR, Defibrillator.
2. Practise calling 111: say your name, where you are, what happened and how many people are hurt.
3. Sprained ankle: rest, ice or cold water, compression with a bandage, elevation. Help the walker to shelter.
4. Cut knee: clean hands or gloves, clean the wound, apply pressure, cover it.
5. Cold and wet walker showing the 'umbles': stop, get into shelter, change into dry layers, add a hat, share warm food and a warm drink, and get help.
6. Rotate through the scenarios so everyone practises each role.

How you'll know: You can talk through DRSABCD, make a clear pretend 111 call, and show what to do for a sprain, a cut and a cold walker.

Safety: This is practice, not a qualification. Use gloves when handling pretend wounds and never practise chest compressions on a real person.

Go further: Make a pocket-sized first aid card for your group to carry on the trip.