Girl Guides Ontario - Girl Guides Ontario - Emergency Preparedness Challenge - Pathfinders

Emergency Preparedness Challenge - Pathfinders

Activities within this challenge may help girls complete all or part of the following badges:

• On my Own – Prepare for the Unexpected
• Find Your Inner Leader
• Create Your Future – Event Planning
• Let’s Take it Outside – Survivor Girl – Prepared for the Outside
• On My Own – First Aid
• My Music, My Movies and More - The Arts from A to Z

Choose at least one activity from each module to complete the Challenge.

Module 1
• Natural emergencies
• Natural emergencies in the community

Module 2
• Family emergency plan
• Emergency survival kit
• Pet emergency survival kit

Module 3
• Lifesaving skills
• Fire safety skills
• Water safety skills

Click here to purchase the Emergency Preparedness crest

Module 1 – Natural Emergencies (choose 1 activity)

Natural Hazard Display/Public Service
Work with your school library to create a display showcasing natural hazards and emergency preparedness. Include books and a display board highlighting protective actions and the most common hazards in your Community. This activity would be well suited during Emergency Preparedness Week each May.
OR
Make a multimedia presentation (video, powerpoint, podcast, etc) about your natural emergency and how to stay safe during the event you chose. Present it to an audience, or post it to the internet where others can see it (if everyone has a photo release signed).

Natural Emergency History
Research a natural hazard that has occurred in your Community. Gather old newspaper articles and speak to survivors. Try to get information on what happened during the emergency and during the recovery. Present your findings in a creative manner to the rest of your group or to a younger group.

Outreach
Design an activity to teach Sparks or Brownies about natural emergencies and protective actions they can take Brownies during a regular meeting or at a camp. If possible, teach your activity to a group of Sparks or Brownies.
You could try:
- Act out a skit about an emergency situation happening, then shout “STOP” and get a girl to tell the actors what to do.
- Have girls create “good idea/bad idea” skits. Assign each small group an emergency and let them act out an inappropriate response, and then an appropriate response to the emergency.
- Come up with a song about what to do in an emergency. You can use a simple song like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” or “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and change the words. Teach your song to a Unit.
- Create a craft to remind girls about what to do during an emergency. This could be a mini flashlight and radio for a camp hat, a mini cell phone with 911 on it, or anything else you think would work with your group
- Your choice - do something else that fits the criteria of the challenge!

Module 2 – Planning Ahead (choose 1 activity)

Camp Emergency Plan
Create an emergency plan for one of your camps. Be sure to include two meeting places, an evacuation plan (e.g. Who is responsible for ensuring everyone is out of the cabin, what are the escape routes from the cabin, etc.), the location of emergency supplies, etc. Research the most common natural hazards which may affect your camp (e.g. Severe summer storm, tornado). Teach the other members of your group what to do in case these natural emergencies occur.

Community Presentation
Create a presentation to help a special population (e.g., seniors, people with disabilities/special needs, pet owners) understand why it is important to be prepared for emergencies. Provide a number of actions which the group can do after they return home (e.g., building an emergency survival kit) and consider providing a handout to assist with this. Be sure to include information that is relevant to that specific population.

Visual Display
Create a visual display about what to do in an emergency, or an aspect of keeping safe in an emergency (such as making a survival kit). Make your poster or display easy to read, eye catching, and gives clear and correct information. Find a place in your Community to put your poster or set up your display where people will see it.

Visit
Visit Police, Fire, EMS or another first responder in your Community to find out what kinds of processes are in place in case of natural emergencies. What kinds of services does this responder offer in case of emergency? What kinds of emergencies have your local emergency services had to respond to in your area? Find out about the equipment they use to help people in distress. Also, find out what kind of training is required to be a first responder, and what kind of training they received with regards to natural emergencies.

Outreach
Design an activity to Sparks of Brownies about emergency survival kits during a regular meeting. If possible, teach your activity to a group of Sparks or Brownies.
You could:
- Bring items needed to make a survival kit, but include some items that don’t belong there (like toys or perishable food items or fancy clothes). Have younger girls decide what goes in the kit and what doesn’t.
- Open a survival kit in an outdoor location and figure out what you need all the items for.
- Make mini survival kits for hiking, or for camping.
- Your choice! Do something else you come up with!

Module 3 – Safety Skills (choose 1 activity)
Courses
Complete one or more of the following courses:
• First Aid/CPR
• Babysitting course
• Bronze Medallion or Bronze Cross (swimming)

Video
Write a script for a short (30sec-1min) public service announcement on calling 9-1-1, knowing basic first aid, fire safety, water safety or other similar topic. Perform your skit and video tape it. Share the video with a younger group, a class at school or post on YouTube (you have to have permission to do so from all in the video and their parents (if under 18).

Comic Book
Create a comic book or activity book for younger children about what to do in an emergency situation that might happen in your Community. Make it fun and interactive. Photocopy and deliver copies of your book to a younger branch Unit near you.

Outreach
Design an activity to teach fire safety skills, water safety skills or lifesaving/first aid skills to Sparks or Brownies during a regular meeting or at a camp. Use the Sparks Ablaze and Brownie Splash resources to help you! If possible, teach your activity to a group of Sparks or Brownies.

Host an Emergency Preparedness Event
Create an event for local younger branch Units to attend to earn the Emergency Preparedness Challenge. Plan activities using the Challenge and invite girls from local Units to participate. Make sure you research and know your information well before you present to others. Plan activities that are fun and exciting, and be enthusiastic as you present to the girls.