Dear Yagilu Parents,
Every night I go to sleep thinking of the safety and well being of our Yagilu campers and staff. And when I wake up each morning, I have their safety still in mind.
In camp, just as in life at home, sometimes things happen differently than we planned, even after a lot of thought and preparation. When that happens, it is our responsibility to respond professionally and effectively to ensure that everyone is ok, and that our campers and staff can continue having a safe and fun summer at Camp Yagilu.
Last night just before sunset, one of our Y3 hikers got separated from his hiking group in the Slide Mountain Wilderness area of the Catskills. After several minutes, the counselors noticed that he had become separated from the group. They immediately followed our plan of action and called the parents of the boy and the first responders. The State Park Rangers, Hatzala and others staged a search and rescue operation to find the missing camper.
Boruch Hashem, the camper knew exactly what to do once he realized he was lost. He stayed calm and remained in place, just as our staff teach the campers to do in such a situation. The camper even made himself a comfortable wilderness shelter, and spent the night getting some rest.
When the sun rose, the rangers found him and he walked out of the forest safe and sound. He returned to his hiking group and we are happy that he has returned to camp to continue having an amazing summer together with his friends. We would like to thank specifically Ranger Howard Kreft who led the search operation with great expertise and leadership.
We look forward to continuing to Rule the Forest, safely!
Sincerely,
Tani Prero
Director, Camp Yagilu Wilderness
www.Yagilu.com
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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5 Responses
Having your hikers carry whistles is just a basic rule of safety in the wilderness.
Rule the Forest sounds a little kochi v’otzem yudi too me
I agree that “Rule the Forest”, even if it is a camp slogan, sounds a little tone deaf in this situation. Under the circumstances the letter should 3nd a low key response that expresses just be thankful that everything worked out a
I agree that “Rule the Forest”, even if it is a camp slogan, sounds a little tone deaf in this situation. Under the circumstances the letter should end with a more low key response that just expresses gratitude that everything worked out in the end.
It takes experience and learned skills for an individual or group to spend 4 days in a wilderness. It also takes some preplanning and training. People planning this type of endeavor need to know how to read a topographic map, use a compass and a lot of other skills. ‘Rule the forest’ is simplistic and isn’t a substitute for planning, preparation, knowledge and skills.