🏕️ Backwoods First Aid – One-Day Intensive Workshop

Hosted by Vine and Fig Tree Homestead

Course Overview

This one-day intensive workshop equips participants with essential skills for responding to medical emergencies in remote or off-grid environments where professional help may be delayed. Participants will learn wilderness-specific assessment techniques, bleeding control, splinting, hypothermia care, wound management, evacuation decision-making, and how to improvise medical tools using natural and available materials.

• Target Audience: Hikers, homesteaders, outdoor workers, off-grid families, adventure enthusiasts

• Duration: 1 day (8 hours, including breaks)

• Format: Classroom learning, hands-on demonstration, outdoor scenario practice

Schedule & Content Outline

9:00–9:30 AM - Welcome & Orientation

  • Workshop goals, safety briefing, introduction to wilderness first aid principles.

  • Discussion: Understand expectations and wilderness response mindset.

9:30–10:30 AM - Session 1: Wilderness Patient Assessment

  • Scene safety, primary survey, secondary survey, SOAP notes, vital sign tracking.

  • Lecture + Demo: Assess patient condition using wilderness-specific methods.

10:30–11:30 AM - Session 2: Bleeding Control & Wound Management

  • Direct pressure, wound packing, tourniquets, treating cuts, abrasions, and punctures.

  • Hands-On Practice: Stop bleeding effectively and manage wounds with improvised tools.

11:30 AM–12:15 PM - Session 3: Splinting & Musculoskeletal Injuries

  • Improvised splints, stabilizing sprains and fractures, safe movement of injured persons.

  • Hands-On: Create splints using available materials such as branches, clothing, or packs.

12:15–1:00 PM - Lunch Break

  • Optional discussion of personal wilderness kits.

  • Discussion: Share personal preparedness strategies.

1:00–2:00 PM - Session 4: Environmental Injuries

  • Hypothermia, heat exhaustion, dehydration, frostbite, altitude concerns.

  • Lecture + Demo: Identify and treat environmental injuries with limited resources.

2:00–3:00 PM - Session 5: Bites, Stings & Poisonous Plants

  • Insect stings, snake bites, tick removal, allergic reactions, poison ivy/oak care.

  • Demo + Practice: Apply correct treatment procedures and avoidance techniques.

3:00–4:00 PM - Session 6: Wilderness Evacuation & Improvisation

  • When to stay vs. evacuate, building litters, signaling, navigation for rescue.

  • Hands-On Scenario: Make evacuation decisions and improvise transport solutions.

4:00–5:00 PM - Session 7: Outdoor Scenarios

  • Group emergency simulations with role-play practice.

  • Scenario-Based Exercise: Demonstrate integrated wilderness first aid skills.

Materials Provided

• Laminated wilderness first aid reference cards
• Sample emergency kit items
• Practice splinting materials
• Bandages, gauze, and wound-packing trainers
• Access to post-workshop training videos

Participants Should Bring

• Notebook and pen
• Outdoor clothing suitable for ground-based practice
• Water bottle and snacks
• Backpack (used for improvisation drills)
• Optional: personal first aid kit

Recommended Reading & Resources

• NOLS Wilderness First Aid Handbook
• American Red Cross Wilderness First Aid Guide
• FEMA Emergency Preparedness Guides
• Wilderness Medical Society guidelines

Post-Workshop Support

• Access to private wilderness safety community
• Monthly scenario refreshers via video
• Optional advanced wilderness medicine training


Vine and Fig Tree Homestead Workshop Series
Promoting Sustainable Living, Self-Reliance, and Community Learning.