Junior Trailblazer Club

Parents & Teachers
“Nature-deficit disorder is not an official diagnosis but a way of viewing the problem, and describes the human costs of alienation from nature, among them: diminished use of the senses, attention difficulties, and higher rates of physical and emotional illnesses. The disorder can be detected in individuals, families, and communities.”
— Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods

The Junior Trailblazer Club consists of 4 hands-on classes, an educational day hike on a local trail, and a fitness component.   Each student will receive a passport where they will collect stamps for each class and a weekly fitness activity.   At the end of the program, the students who have collected all of the stamps, will receive the Junior Trailblazer pin and become official members of the club.

• South Carolina Wildlife- Students will learn how to identify local wildlife by studying skulls, scat, and tracks.   They will learn how to identify signs, or evidence, of wildlife in the outdoors and how to use those signs to determine the species, diet, size, etc. The use of field guides will aid in identifying animal characteristics and adaptations including size, range, habitat, diet, and scientific name.   The students will also learn the important characteristics of the geographic regions of South Carolina.

• South Carolina Trees- In this exciting class, students will learn how to identify and categorize tree leaves according to their shape, size, venation, margin, and positioning on the twig.   The students will then learn how to use a dichotomous leaf key as an identification tool for leaf samples.   Field guides and plant collections are also available for the students to use.

• Outdoor First Aid- Students will learn basic outdoor first aid by discussing possible emergency situations.   They will go through the contents of a first aid kit, and discuss when and how to use each item.   Each student will get a chance to practice tying splints and slings using materials that can be found in the outdoors.   Poisonous spiders and snakes will also be discussed.

• Outdoor Skills- During this class, students will learn about the upcoming hike and items that are necessary to take on a hike.   Students will learn the importance of packing in water, a nutritional snack, a first aid kit, field guides, maps, a compass, and other fun items such as a pair of binoculars.   The students will get the chance to come up with some of their own ideas for good nutritional snacks.   Some of these ideas can be found in the recipe section of the website.   Using a compass and a map, each student will learn how to orient his position on the map as well as on the trail.   The students will also learn how to read a topographical map by using contour lines to find elevation change.

The Hike:

After the students have completed the four lessons above, they will venture out to a local trail where the children will get a chance to explore using their new knowledge and skills.   A daypack will be provided for each student and will include a water bottle, a nutritious snack, and a pair of binoculars.   Throughout the hike, a different aspect from each class will be incorporated.

Fitness Component :
Each student will receive a pedometer that will be used to keep track of steps and/or miles each week.   As one of the requirements for the program, each student will have to walk a total of at least 10 miles each week.   They will be given logs to keep track of their steps.   The logs will be checked at the end of the week, and the students will receive a stamp in their passport if they have completed the 10 miles.

  How to get involved:

•Contact Kari Hanna at (803)771-0870, or email at          kfox@palmettoconservation.org to find out how to get your school, or your child's school, involved in the Junior Trailblazer program.

•Do you have a passion for the outdoors?   Do you enjoy working with children?   Look on our Volunteer Page to find out how you can volunteer your time and skills.

•If you enjoy being outside, hiking, or discovering the natural beauty of South Carolina, be sure to check out the Senior Explorers.