Woodlore’s Wilderness Navigation course

Office Team member Becky had some time out of the office in April to attend our Wilderness Navigation course.  Here’s what Becky had to say about her experience;

“Back at the beginning of April I was let out of the office for a week (thanks boss) to attend the Woodlore Wilderness Navigation course. I like a bit of a ramble at the weekends as well as the odd longer distance walk but my understanding of the map and compass were at best basic before this course. I was a little nervous about camping out in the woods rustic style for a whole week (I haven’t slept under canvas for more than the odd night for about 20 years) but with help from the Woodlore Outdoor Team I settled to it very quickly.

Course Leader James (Woodlore’s very own Head of Ops) promised great weather – apparently that particular course is always blessed so I packed sunscreen as well as Ultrathon. For the first couple of days the sunscreen didn’t get a look in as we got to grips with the basics of Navigation sometimes in the rain, wind and drizzle and after dark too. The weather wasn’t all bad those first days as I do recall the sun on my face as I attempted to walk across a meadow blindfolded!

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Recently, Woodlore field staff member Adrian Newton e-mailed us to let us know that the first aid training provided to him by Jamie and his team at Fusion Medical Limited, during Woodlore’s Training Week, had really paid off.

Luckily the incident did not occur on one of our courses, but at Adrian’s place of work.  It just goes to show, accidents can happen anywhere and you never know when you may need this life-saving training! 

This is what Adrian had to say;

“Hi everyone in the office,

Hope everyone is well. I just wanted to pass on my thanks to Woodlore and Jamie for all the first aid training you have given us. I got to use it for real yesterday when a scaffold collapsed at work with a friend, Stewart on top of it.

Stewart fell twelve feet, hitting his head on the way down. I wasn’t the first person there and Stewart had been moved to a safer place away from the scaffold. He was conscious but had blood pouring from the back of his head. I got him to remain in the position I found him, sitting upright, keeping his head still. I was worried about a neck or back injury. He complained his back hurt but there was nowhere flat to lie him down. I stopped the bleeding with every bandage in the first aid kit. Standard kits for the workplace really are rubbish. There wasn’t even any surgical gloves let alone anything to support his neck.

The paramedics arrived and gave him a thorough examination. They put a brace around his neck and were happy enough to walk him off site. He was x-rayed at the hospital and had twelve staples in the cut. He’s back at work today. Damn! He’s got a hard head.  

Thanks again to the company for organising the courses for us and if it’s at all possible, could you send my thanks to Jamie. It could have been a lot worse, but thanks to you guys I didn’t feel overwhelmed dealing with it.

See you all soon.”

If you are interested in attending a first aid training course, Woodlore, teamed with Fusion Medical Limited, have several excellent courses running, ranging from a 2-day to week long courses:

Woodlore’s Wilderness Emergency Medic Courses

All of our first aid courses are approved by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and provide you with a certificate.  We  include mainly scenario-based learning as, after many years of teaching experience, we find this is the best way to remember such vital information.