BUTTE - With hiking and camping season upon us, it’s easy for kids to get lost in the woods. That’s why volunteers with Butte’s search and rescue want to teach kids how to become tree huggers.
“So the basics are if you find yourself lost in the woods, stay put, find a tree and just hug the tree, just stay with it,” said 15/90 Search and Rescue volunteer Richard Smith.
WATCH: “Hug A Tree” Program Emerges from Tragedy to Keep Kids Safe
Volunteers with the 15/90 Search and Rescue went to Butte elementary schools to teach fourth graders the Hug A Tree technique. If they get lost in the woods, take shelter under a large tree and, most importantly, don’t move and wait for rescuers.
“If the kid gets up and they walk away or they leave where they were, and we’ve already looked where they are now, we’re going to go back where they were. So, it’s a lot easier for us to find someone if they’re all in the same place and they don’t move,” said Smith.
The program was started out of a tragedy in 1981 after a 9-year-old got lost in the woods in California.
“After five days of searching with over 400 volunteers, including the Marine Corp., they found him passed away from hypothermia,” said Smith.
The volunteers also taught kids how to make a shelter from a household trash bag to keep warm and dry. Each student was given a whistle to keep with them whenever they go in the woods. Some students said they feel prepared if they ever get lost.
“I would probably just like, blow my whistle and stuff,” said Whittier Elementary student Eloise Majerus.
Smith added, “If you find yourself lost and you don’t know where you are, just stay where you are. Somebody’s going to look for you. We’re going to come out and find you.”
