Field Trip Friday: Emergency Preparedness

I came up with several varieties of field trip ideas:

First, you could check with your local science museum to see if they have a meteorology exhibit. If not, check with your local news station and see if it is possible to watch a taping of the news and/or meet with the meterologist or tour the meterology department. You can also check with your local colleges and see if the meteorology professor (most colleges offer at lest a basic weather course)would be willing to meet with you.

Second, you could tour your local American Red Cross and/or other local disaster relief agencies. Fire departments are another place that often respond after a disaster. Ask them how they help the community other than fighting fires.

Third, if you are close to an area recovering from a storm (they can take many years to recover from), you can find out a way to help the recovery efforts. If you do not live near a "recovery area", you could still find out ways to help and spend a day helping (organize a clothing/food/water drive, make personal care packages, etc)

The last idea is not really a field trip idea, but a good activity to go along with this topic. You could hold emergency drills, similar to a fire drill, but for other emergencies. See how quickly you can get everyone and all the necessary items into the vehicle in case of a rapid evacuation. See how quickly you can get everyone to a safe room in case of a sudden storm or tornado. These would be good to practice regularly, not just for this unit.

Hopefully, none of us will ever experience a major storm, but it is likely some of you have and most of us will. Preparedness is the best "defense" we have. Learning about the weather and the agencies available are a great way to familiarize ourselves with what can happen. That way, if it does happen, we at least know what we should expect.

Worldly Wednesday: FEMA and the Red Cross

Today, we are going to look at two organizations that are in place to help after a disaster, FEMA and the Red Cross.

FEMA

-Federal Emergency Management Agency
-Part of the Department of Homeland Defense since March 2003
-Mission: "The primary mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the Nation from all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters, by leading and supporting the Nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation." (from Fema's website)
-Most of us will only ever use FEMA as a preparedness resource, but it is important to note they are also there to protect us, respond after a disaster (natural or manmade), help us recover and get back on our feet.
-Vocabulary word: mitigate-to ease or calm; to lessen or make less severe

The American Red Cross

-International relief organization; also known as Red Crescent
-Services offerd: provide relief and assistance after a disaster, help families who have lost their home, provide relief for emergency personnel (juice, cookies for firefighters), help collect and maintain blood supply, training people in first aid and CPR, help unite or bring closure to families of missing persons (particularly after a disaster or war)and help get deployed military personnel home during a family emergency
-History: Clara Barton: was a field nurse during the Civil War; founded (vocab wod=started) the American Red Cross in 1881 and led it for 23 years; a nice age-appropriate biography to read is Clara Barton: Spirit of the American Red Cross by Patricia Lakin and Simon Sullivan.
-Much more information on the Red Cross website, including a coloring book of Red Cross posters