Wilderness Survival Guide 103 NORTH QUEENS GROUND SEARCH AND RESCUE North Queens Ground Search and Rescue is a group of local volunteers founded in 1984. We currently have 19 active members. With our location only moments away from Kejimkujik National Park we work closely with the park officials as well as local RCMP and the Emergency Management Office for aide in search and recovery efforts when someone is lost or not able to get themselves out of the wilderness. We also provide emergency response for natural emergencies such as flooding, local water shortages or long power outages. Members of our team attend multidisciplinary specialized training courses and workshops which have included: Advanced Wilderness and Remote First Aid, Incident Command System (ICS) Training, Lost Person Behaviour, Autism Awareness, Tick and Lyme Awareness, and Ice Safety Awareness & Rescue Training (which is a Train the Trainer hypothermia course with “Dr. Popsicle”). Our members also spend time training in search tactics, navigation, tracking awareness, wilderness survival, search technology, water rescue and remote rescue. Even though 2020 was a difficult year for training due to Covid-19 we still had an active year and were able to assist with searches and continue to train. During the peak of Covid our monthly meetings were conducted via Zoom and we held regular training when safe to do so. We completed a new shelter for our command bus. Our team has partnered with the Caledonia Earth Guardians for roadside cleanup in Caledonia and continues to conduct yearly Loon Watch in Keji park. Last year we had one new member and one returning member. One of our longstanding members, David Small, was voted in as a lifetime member, joining Jerry Burke, Floyd Luxton and Byron Winters as members that will always be a part of our team. We now also have two members sitting on the executive board for Nova Scotia GSAR. Stephen Hopper as Vice President and Wayne Fiddes as treasurer. This year we look forward to increased collaborative partnership with Parks Canada, and other local groups. We are working to increase the capacity and expertise of our team, and we look forward to the opportunity to continue to grow our team and our expertise. New members are always welcome. We meet the second Tuesday of every month at Georgie’s in Caledonia at 7pm. You can also join us for our training sessions to see what we are about. Find us on Facebook or call 902-685-3993 for more information.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==