Varsity Scout Training on caving and conservation

Tuesday, April 25th 2006 - Cami Litchford

Location: West Valley Trip Leader: Cami Litchford On Trip: Cami Litchford, Thorpe Cox A group of varsity boy scouts are trying to earn a badge, so Thorpe and I volunteered to give them a presentation on cave exploring basics and caving softly. Overall, there were 5 scouts and 4 leaders who showed up. Thanks to Brandon Kowallis, we had different caving suits and cave pictures hanging in the room. Thorpe and I also decorated the place with out gear, and NSS Magazine covers. I also made two life sized stalagmites (one was in pristine condition, and one was vandalized) to display. Thorpe and I began the meeting introducing ourselves, our affiliations with the NSS and grottoes, and then said why we liked cave exploring. We then had some of the scouts say why they liked cave exploring. Following introductions, I had all the scouts call out things that could be possible dangers in cave exploring. I also added a few to the list. After we had written the list, I went over each danger and explained how those dangers could be avoided or reduced while cave exploring. Following that, Thorpe and I went over the basic gear needed to explore horizontal caves. We went over different types of caves briefly and explained how to dress for different conditions. We explained different types of lights, and things to include in a cave bag (we even explained pee bottles and burritto bags). Other things we talked about were how important the buddy system and team work were, and some things to avoid while cave exploring. The next thing we talked about was conservation. Thorpe showed a slideshow of various caves, and then we talked about many ways they could cave softly by helping to preserve formations, and how to respect cave life. We even explained why we build cave gates. We ended the training with a question and answer session. We even showed them some vertical gear(we did not explain it) to let them know what they would be doing in the near future, Overall, the presentation went far better than I ever suspected. Overall, it lasted about an hour and twenty minutes. The scouts stayed attentive the whole time, despite the bundles of information that they were given. One really great thing, was we left them with more questions and things to think about relating to cave exploring than they had thought about in the beginning. We also got them excited to go caving, while teaching them how to be more safe. It was a great learning experience, and if nothing else, they will now know basic cave safety, and be more respectful to caves when they explore them.