Location and Weather

Jagersberg is a pretty, forested area located near the university of Kristiansand. There are plenty of flat camping spots and sheltered places to make fires. The conditions were not ideal, warm at around 0 degrees but extremely wet! We pitched camp in a place that was sheltered slightly by foliage and had a large flat area for group activities. We had bought a spare, large tarp and some rope to make a group shelter so found a flat area surrounded by trees and put this up. This proved to be very useful for cooking dinner and providing some welcome shelter from the weather and boosting morale.

Dynamic Group Activities

We were split into teams by nationality and asked to come up with an activity that was dynamic, cognitive and fun. The game my team chose was ‘Chicken in a Hen House’ which involves participants splitting into pairs and acting certain actions that are called out to them. Other teams chose games that involved running around and various team-building exercises. Spending the afternoon in grey, rainy conditions may not have been what people fancied when we set out but being active and concentrating on these games led to a really enjoyable afternoon and definitely a lot better than having been sat in a classroom all day. We were staying fit, using our brains and building group cohesion. I have taken many ideas from games to use in the future with groups and taken that no matter the weather it is still possible to have fun in the outdoors.

Food and Fire

After the dynamic group activities we had to split into our groups and cook a nutritious meal in only 20 minutes. We made noodles with vegetables and spices. The point of this exercise was to show that it is possible to make nutritious meals on camp and they can be made fairly quickly. When spending days in the outdoors and partaking in physical activity it is important to provide our bodies with plenty of energy to keep us warm and fit. Using ingredients such as noodles are useful because they are lightweight and by adding extra water to the dish means they can provide additional hydration. After dinner we went for a walk to remain warm and then built a fire. When building a fire in the winter it is useful to have kindling already with you, preferably tucked up somewhere warm in your pack and have dry wood. A fire really helps boost peoples mood in the cold and makes the perfect place to have a cup of something warm before bed and an additional snack to keep you warm throughout the night.

Sleep

The night was very uneventful and everyone made it through the night with little interruption. A few people complained about waking up with soaking wet sleeping bags. This is a problem in the winter due to condensation. When the temperature inside the tent is higher than the temperature outside condensation will form. To prevent this, keep air flowing through the tent by having something open to the outside and avoid tucking your head into your sleeping bag when asleep.

What I will take from this trip…

– If camping close by and possible, bring a group shelter such as a large tarp to cook under. Being able to socialise and having somewhere dry to cook really kept spirits up.

– Keep an organized backpack. Know where everything is and pack accordingly. In the rain you don’t want to be pulling things out to find something at the bottom.

– When working with groups, using games can be a great way to enjoy the outdoors and will also help build personal development and group cohesion.

– Keep a fire lighting kit in your pack with some form of kindling to start a fire easily.

– Nutritious meals are possible, especially if food is split between everyone’s packs.

– To prevent condensation, have something open to the elements and avoid sleeping with your head tucked into your sleeping bag.