<h2>Having members of the fire service wading through rising waters to rescue your group from a flash flood during camp and featuring on national news the next morning surely isn’t on anyone’s list of camping &OpenCurlyQuote;must-dos&excl;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>Live pictures of dozens of primary pupils huddled together in a nearby farmer’s barn being beamed across the country&comma; was however&comma; the reality for one school camp&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>There is no accounting for the weather&comma; and scenarios hard to envisage when planning&comma; can and do happen&period; In this particular camp&comma; all children and staff were safe&comma; if a little shaken from having to scramble onto top bunks in their dormitories in the dark as the flood waters rose rapidly&period; Staff acted swiftly&comma; called for help early and everyone got out&period; They couldn’t have accounted for what happened that night&comma; but good planning and quick action saved the day<em>&period; <&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote>&NewLine;<p>The key to preventing disaster and creating a positive camp experience is in the planning&comma; as well as the execution&period; Get it right and you’ll create positive memories for children to share – whatever the weather&excl;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>The activities on camp are often the most enjoyable part of the experience for students&period; Team building challenges are popular and productive&comma; caving&comma; rope courses&comma; kayaking&comma; go-karting&comma; sailing&comma; rafting&comma; and bush survival lessons&period; Camps should provide trained instructors for these specialist pursuits&comma; while parents could step in to help teach camp cooking skills&comma; weaving&comma; or learning how to light a fire – age appropriately&comma; of course&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;19947" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-19947" style&equals;"width&colon; 300px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-19947" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;schoolnews&period;co&period;nz&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2021&sol;06&sol;Rockup-Adventures-1-300x225&period;jpg" alt&equals;"" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"225" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-19947" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Image&colon; Rockup Adventures<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>Whether you choose tents&comma; huts&comma; or bunks in dormitories&comma; open air shelters or more well-catered cabins will depend on age&comma; stage&comma; desired outcomes&comma; and budget&period; It is important to find the balance between comfort and challenge&comma; while allowing students of all abilities to feel supported&comma; which isn’t always easy&excl; Some children may not have ventured beyond their family homes for a night before&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Depending on the camp&comma; in-house kitchen catering facilities may be available or&comma; either way&comma; external suppliers can be employed&period; Key points to remember in cooking for yourselves are the number of helpers needed&comma; people available to go grocery shopping&comma; the amounts of non-perishables needed and what can be transported versus what needs to be bought nearby – and where fresh items can actually be bought locally&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Special dietary requirements of campers – adults and children – need to be catered for and strict hygiene rules adhered to&period; No one wants upset stomachs&comma; especially not on camp&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote>&NewLine;<p>Talking of health and safety&comma; it goes without saying that this is paramount&period; Risk management is serious business and should be treated as the number one priority in any camp planning&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p>There are organisations schools can turn to if planning a camp feels like it’s falling in the too hard basket and schools need to weigh up the cost of this versus the impact of running the show internally&period; Providing equipment lists&comma; jobs lists&comma; having plenty of hands on deck&comma; being well supplied&comma; encouraging high morale among helpers and considering accessibility for a range of students are all necessary to keep front of mind when choosing the latter option&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The stakes are high&comma; but with the right planning and attitude&comma; so is the fun&excl;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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Heather Barker Vermeer

Heather has worked as a journalist, writer and editor in England and Aotearoa New Zealand for over 20 years. She fell in love with words when she received a 'Speak & Spell' tech toy for Christmas in 1984.

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