Safety Squad – Bushcraft
Posted on March 21, 2016
It was Friday 18th March 2016, A normal day to normal folk, however to 6 Brave employees of Courtley Health & Safety this was the dawn of an adventure, bigger than that experienced before. It was the day they would set out on a dangerous endeavour to Halewood Park, risking their lives in order to compete against other companies in the Bushcraft trials!
We were invited by Knowsley Council & Green Spaces Team to take part in this local event. Its purpose was team building and appreciating the green spaces within our community with a little light hearted competition with some other companies in the local area.
The day began with some lovely lunch and cake, which Emma thought were tactics to slow us down!
We then headed to the first activity;
Rope Bridge Building
As you can see below, we were given a set of ropes and had to build a bridge sturdy enough to carry our whole team across to the other side. (Obviously without touching the crock infested waters beneath)
Steve and Ann took charge as they had experience with ropes from their sailing days.
We built a fantastic bridge, and made it across in a rapid time, we were so quick the ranger made us do it TWICE! This was our most successful activity as a team and set us up in good spirits for the rest of the day!
Blind Trial
This consisted of 5 blind mice (Emma, Steve, Ann, Codey and Jordan) being led by Jyssica. She had to communicate the obstacles to the group. It proved challenging in parts but everyone made it through!
We then had Orienteering; from this we learnt two things about the whole team:
1) No one likes to run.
2) We all love dogs. We got distracted along the way by lovely husky’s and dog walkers in the park that our time was not going to break any records.
Fire lighting
The whole team had a crack at this; it proved more difficult than we thought. Codey was the twisted fire starter by the end as she had a real good technique & skill to get the blaze going!
During all of these tasks, we were required to keep our treasure safe (A water balloon each) we only had one casualty and finished our tasks with 5 water balloons intact!! Well done team.
The other teams were great, the rangers fantastic & we thank all involved. Below is some feedback from our surviving warriors and hope you look forward to our next conquest.
Safety Squad
Steve Wallace
A fabulous day team. I really enjoyed it as it demonstrated just how great the team at Courtley are. Fabulous communication, some hidden talents brought to the forefront. Well done Safety Crew and the other teams who took part but especial thanks to Knowsley Council and the Rangers for organising such a fun day.
Ann Holloway
The Bushcraft was a very wet and muddy but enjoyable experience. It was a good team building experience especially the blind trail in which you had to trust the guidance of the leader and the communication of the rest of your team mates. All of the tasks were full of fun but made you realise that without the support of your team the tasks would have been a lot harder and some not possible.
Jyssica Murphy
I loved the Bushcraft Experience, It helped us to identify each other’s strengths and roles as part of a team. My favourite bit was the Blind Trial where I had to guide my colleagues across a course, whilst they were blindfolded. It was difficult but we made it out with just a few scratches from tree branches, and very muddy clothes.
Jordan Beasley
I thought the Bushcraft Experience was fantastic. I enjoyed each of the activities and thought it was a great team building exercise as each task required everybody to contribute and work together. I believe the event was well organised and thought the staff were excellent.
Emma Blower
I thought that taking part in the Bushcraft activities was great fun. Having the opportunity to work together on something out of the ordinary, for us, made me realise how well we already work together as a team.I would definitely like to take part in another Bushcraft event, especially if the whole team could be involved. Thanks for a brilliant day!
Codey Leyland
Bushcraft was a very enjoyable experience! It was great to work together as a team outside of the office. I loved our first activity which was the rope bridge, we had to strategize how to get across the crocodile filled lake (in our imagination) using 3 ropes. We all survived the experience and were able to cross the imaginary lake!
We would like to Thank our team-mates who enabled us to go on the Bushcraft Experience, Amy, Ed & Alan. Thanks for the support and remember to get ready for our next experience, whatever that may be as we will need you on the battlefront next time!