Scouts Canada is encouraging Canadians to sharpen their outdoor skills following a recent survey revealing that most Canadians were “bearly ready” for what’s necessary for survival in the wilderness.
As per a report, the co-ed youth organization surveyed 1,000 Canadians and found out that the majority of participants rated their own camping skills as poor to potentially dangerous.
Around 36.3% of the respondents said their camping competency was okay, while 39% said their skills varied from poor to dangerous.
Scouts Canada said nearly one-in-four respondents would not know how to react to encountering a black bear, with 23.2% of respondents citing dangerous responses and 14.9% saying they simply wouldn’t know how to react.
About 8.6% claimed they’d run away from the bear, 5.6% selected “Play Metallica on iPhone and live stream” survey response, 5.5% said they’d stare at the bear’s eyes to intimidate them, and 3.2% stated they would attack first, which Scouts Canada says is an extremely bad idea.
“We’re having a little fun with this survey, but the real point is that we wanted to understand the gaps that Canadians are facing in their connection with nature and important outdoor skills and how Scouting meets that need by grounding kids in real-world experiences that prepare them for life,” said Siobhan Ward, youth program specialist with Scouts Canada.
The survey carried out by Scouts Canada also found that more than half of those who responded claimed that setting up a tent would take them at least 30 minutes or an unknown amount of time.
Around 27.7% stated that it would take between 10 to 25 minutes to put up a tent, while the remaining 11.4% claimed they could put up a tent in five minutes.
Scouts Canada also reminds campers that the best method to dry gear is to wring it out and hang it. This is because almost 50% of respondents said they weren’t sure how to dry wet gear, while 15% chose incorrect techniques – like flapping gear out or placing it within three inches of a fire.
When families and youth in Canada are empowered with skills to enjoy fun outdoor adventures with confidence and safety, they are also set up for success in the world as resilient, capable, and well-rounded individuals,” said Ward.
This story originally appeared on CTV News.