The EverWild Agreements

At EverWild, the primary focus is on the safety of the participants while maintaining the integrity and core values of the program. As a diverse community of learners, participants must adhere to EverWild’s Agreements - which are shared by mentors with children and teens at the prorgram.

EverWild Agreements:

Take care of yourself

take care of each other

take care of this place

Required

• Proper fitting backpack (over both shoulders)

• Water (two bottles, one can be frozen)

• Lunch & snack

• Change of clothes

• Towel (hand towel/Turkish towel)

• Sunscreen (applied before drop off & packed in backpack)

• Summer appropriate clothes

• Sun hat & swimsuit

Recommended

• Changing Poncho - for easy changing & privacy

• Bandana

• Journal and Pencil/Pen/Colored Pencils

• Personal First Aid Kit (Bandaids/antibacterial cream)

• Tools for exploring (Binoculars, compass, bird whistle, magnifying glass, bug catcher, catch and release container ($10 on Amazon)

Rhythm of the Day for all camps:

1- Sign in with mentors at the location indicated in your welcome email.

2- Hike in and set up Base Camp. This is where the EverWilders will make their home in nature for the day.

3- Morning Gathering and Snack. EverWilders gather together to connect. Mentors introduce safety, boundaries, and plans for the day.

4- Exploration and Activity. Campers explore the landscape, create using natural materials, and connect with friends. Mentors provide tools and materials for nature-based activities that deepen camper’s understanding of the natural world.

5- Lunch

6- Explore Time/Expedition. EverWilders are welcomed to sink deeper into their immediate surroundings, or go on an exploration! Hikes, group games and play.

7- Winding Down and Closing Gathering. EverWilders wrap up their day with nature journaling and drawing, finding a sit spot in nature and coming together at Closing Gathering.

8- Sign-out at the location in your welcome email (same as drop-off location).

All mentors including substitutes are required to be First Aid and CPR certified. We perform background checks on all mentors prior to hire. There are several policies and practices that we have put in place to support your child in safe exploration and risk-taking in a group setting. EverWild provides mentors with training of these policies and protocols and ongoing professional development opportunities to retain highly skilled mentors. We provide a low student to mentor ratio of 6 children to 1 mentor to ensure we are available to support your child’s needs in a group setting. Our small groups are supported by 2 mentors. Visit our Meet the Team page to learn more about our Nature-Based Mentors, founders, and administrators, and their journey to EverWild.

There are several policies that we have put in place to support your child in safe exploration and risk-taking in a group setting. Read all of EverWild’s Policies & Protocols here.

Extreme Heat

EverWild schedules our locations in consideration of the high temperatures we often see in the summer months in Los Angeles. We schedule our locations near water whenever possible. Our program is equipped with transportable shade and shelter, coolers, squirt bottles and other fun ways to stay cool. During days of high heat, our van programs will head to the beach or to cool shaded canyon areas with water. Our drop-off classes will relocate or cancel if temperatures and humidity levels reach levels that are unsuitable for safe outdoor play.

Bodies of Water

Children at EverWild often explore near bodies of water. Children are always accompanied by a mentor while in or near any body of water. Please be sure to specify your child’s swimming skill level when completing your child’s forms during enrollment. Your child’s swimming skill level is shared with all mentors.

Late Pick-Up Policy

The fee for late arrivals is $5 for every 5 minutes after the designated pick-up time. Minutes will be rounded up to the nearest 5 minutes. Fees will be billed by the office and are due electronically before your child's next scheduled class.

Bathroom Procedure

Children must let mentor or screened volunteers know when they have to use the bathroom. All children must be accompanied by a mentor/volunteer to the bathroom. Mentor/volunteer may not enter the stall to assist the child. Mentor/volunteer can hold the door shut for a child who struggles with the lock for safety reasons. Children must get changed on their own without the help of a sibling or friend. One child per stall.

Nature Potty

Mentors may assist children with finding a spot in nature to go to the bathroom outside. Mentors must give children privacy by turning their backs and being within 15 feet while the child goes potty. Children must be offered toilet paper or a wet wipe to clean themselves. All bathroom duties that occur outdoors must be completed in an environmentally friendly way (pack out poo and properly dispose of waste and trash).

Bathroom Procedure (Finches Only)

We do not require children to be potty-trained in order to attend our Acorns or Finches classes. Children are welcome in diapers or at any point in the process of potty training. Families provide their preferred diapers and wipes. EverWild mentors change children using a stand up change technique. We use public restrooms when they are available and always accompany children to the restroom. Many of our locations do not have public restrooms. Instead, we practice nature potty and instruct children using our nature potty technique “pants to knees, legs apart, squat like a frog”. EverWild mentors will demonstrate the motions with their clothes on and will assist children with their clothing if needed. We provide children with toilet paper, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, and soap/water for clean up. Mentors will pick up any waste in an effort to leave no trace protecting the environment and its visitors. We have found that children as young as three get the hang of nature potty with little practice but it’s important to send your child with a change of clothes in the event that they have an accident. To support your child with nature potty we encourage you to help them practice in your backyard or out in nature before they begin doing nature potty at EverWild.

Shower Procedures

Mentors may not assist the child with showering or cleaning with the exception of pressing the shower button to allow for water to come out of the shower head.

Changing Clothes

Mentors, Volunteers, siblings, and friends may not assist children with changing clothes. Mentors and volunteers may hand dry clothes to children and collect soiled clothes after the child has removed them to assist with packing/unpacking.

COVID-19 Policy

When experiencing a possible exposure, positive case, or when an individual develops symptoms of Covid-19 while at EverWild, we are required to follow the Decision Pathways.

Sick Policy

You are the best judge of your child’s health, and we trust you will not bring a sick child to EverWild. However, if in the opinion of the Mentor, program manager or Director, your child is sick, we will call you to come and pick-up your child as soon as possible. Your child will be isolated from the other children until you arrive and will remain under the watch and care of EverWild staff. This policy is put in place to ensure the health and safety of your child, other children attending the program, and program staff.

The following criteria will be considered in determining if your child must be picked up early:

• a fever of 100 degrees or more

• inflammation of the eyes (excessive redness, glassy or discharge)

• vomiting

• more than one incidence of diarrhea or loose stool which is not contained within clothing

• communicable disease as defined by the Department of Health Services/Center for Disease Control

• unknown rash

• excessive nasal discharge, especially if yellow or greenish, since this indicates infection

• Pain (earache, cramps, headache, etc.)

If your child's symptoms are a result of allergies, we require a doctor's note confirming your child's allergies to help us differentiate when your child is displaying signs of illness or allergies.

If your child is sent home due to illness, they cannot return to EverWild until they have been free from symptoms for 24 hours without the use of a fever reducer. This is to allow your child ample time to recover and stop the spread of illness to the other children and staff.

After your child has been ill, it is important to adhere to the following guidelines when determining whether or not your child is ready to return to EverWild.

• Mood, appetite, behavior and activity are normal

• No fever for 24 hours without a fever reducer

• Antibiotics (if prescribed) have been used for a full 24 hours (48 hours in the case of strep)

• Vomiting, diarrhea cleared for 24 hours

• Frequent coughing, excessive nasal discharge resolved

• Pain (earache, cramps, headache, etc.) resolved

It is the responsibility of the parent to notify EverWild if your child has a communicable disease or infestation such as: measles, mumps, chicken pox, or head lice. A child may be readmitted without a statement from a physician only if the child has been absent for a period of time equal to the longest incubation period of the disease as specified by the Department of Health and Social Services.

Children returned to EverWild with signs of illness or communicable disease will be asked to return at a later time.

Foraging and Eating Wild Plants

We never eat anything unless we are 100% certain of the ID.

Extreme Weather Protocol:

The very nature of our outdoor program immerses us in our environment and exposes us to the elements. Our changing climate has brought with it extreme weather. Although natural disasters are few and far between, we understand the importance of preparedness, especially while mentoring your child in nature. We have developed policies and protocols to ensure your child’s safety should we experience extreme weather during class time.

When making decisions around closures/reopening classes due to extreme weather/climate incidents we refer to NOAA, Weather Underground, Air Now, and the Air Now Fire and Smoke map. AirNow was created by the National Weather Service and uses NOAA maps. We will do our best to notify families of any class changes immediately but will notify families by 8am. Any changes made 24 hours prior to the start of class time will be emailed to families. If we need to make any changes within 24 hours to the start of the class the mentors and support staff will make phone calls/send texts to alert you of last-minute changes. Mentors must always have a working and charged cell phone while at EverWild.

In the event of an emergency, should we need to relocate during camp time our mentors will walk the group to the nearest open business or area of shelter and will contact families to pick-up early.