Once we all Arrived at Camp YI in La Vergne, TN and settling in on Monday night (May 20th). We started Training for our visitor use survey teams bright and early 7am Tuesday. The first few days we spend learning about specific SCA policies and procedures. We also learned about the history of conservation in the SCA. Mid-week we began the training on the surveys and the policies of the Army Corps of Engineers. We also had the chance to practice the surveys with park rangers from nearby ACE parks. The end of the week we got the chance to work with Aerie and all became CPR and wilderness first aid certified. The CPR and first aid portion of the week was very hands on and covered a wide spectrum of possible illnesses and injuries one could encounter in any setting, as well as how to handle these issues.
It seems that the unwritten slogan for the SCA should be “work hard play harder.” While the training days were long and the mornings were quite early we all had a blast. The leaders planned nightly games and activities that gave the team members the chance to have a little fun relax, and get to know each other. We had the chance to learn new games like “ninja” and “Eskimo Ball” as well as some not so new games such as ultimate Frisbee. We even got to do a little line dancing!
By the following Monday (May 27th) we were all pretty tuckered out but had finally completed the SCA training week. We all made it out alive and ready to go to our designated areas of the country and begin our work as SCA ACE visitor use surveyors.
