PG Search and Rescue reminds kids to Hug A Tree if they are lost in the bush

In light of George Hazard-Benoit, the four-year-old boy from Mackenzie who was found after spending 30 hours in the bush has led Prince George Search and Rescue to talk about the Hug a Tree program.

Dave Merritt who is the Search Manager for PGSAR explained to MyPGNow.com what items kids and adults should have if they happen to lose their way.

“Everybody should have a little survival blanket, they should be carrying a whistle and a little bit of extra clothing including a jacket if you did have to spend the night out there and we tell the kids to hug a tree, pull up some branches, wrap yourselves around that blanket, sit and wait and blow the whistle.”

Hug-A-Tree is a provincial program that educates kids between Kindergarten to Grade 5 what to do in the bush.

PGSAR also has an adult version of the program called Survive Outside, but oftentimes it’s the kids educating the parents on the survival skills they learn.

“What we find is when we teach these kids the Hug-A-Tree program, they actually go back and teach their parents on what they should be doing and how they should be telling someone where they are going and ensuring that they have the essentials with them. This is everybody so that we can tell them to stay put and not go anywhere so we know where you are.”

“We do find it easier to teach the kids because they do listen, they stay put, sit and wait and it works really well.”

Merritt finds these programs and skills are even more valuable in a place like the north, strictly because of the landscape of the region.

“In the north, we really do push the program and in the province of BC we’ve got 300 volunteers instructors and 175 of them are searching and rescue volunteers and I think six of them are from Prince George and most of the SAR teams locally have instructors – if we can prevent somebody from getting lost than I don’t have to get up at two in the morning and help look for the missing hunter that day.”