Where in the Appalachian Bioregion are we going?

Where in the Appalachian Bioregion are we going? The consensus was for the White Mountain National Forest (in the Northeast), or the Appalachian states of Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia. Spring Council selected a site in North Eastern Tennessee.

If you're not familiar with the gauntlet on the road into the gathering, and want to avoid a mandatory court appearance ticket click here.

For the Howdy Folks and directions to the gathering, click here. For the United States Forest Service Incident Command website with groovy maps and updates, click here.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Emergency Assistance at the Gathering

Today's guest post comes courtesy of Sister Babz - she speaks wisdom. I will just add that if you need medical assistance, most of the large kitchens have trained medical folks and you can always send a runner to INFO who can quickly mobilize the assistance you need:



The reality is that this years site will probably have cellphone reception. As people scout, it is a good thing to know whether a site has access or not. Access is a mixed blessing!

Historically, the biggest concern regarding this issue has come from the local emergency medical service responders (EMS), and the calls they receive from gatherers for issues that could have been dealt with bette...r on site. A 911 call goes out, and the EMS system is activated and obliged to respond. Medical evacuation is an expense to the local community, and unnecessary calls eat up their budget and every year is a concern when gatherers meet with EMS services.

911 calls from a gathering are best avoided. The are often unnecessary, and multiple calls swamp the system and can cause confusion. Get help locally folks! Count on the family in the woods - find out early how to get help --- CALM, call out shanti sena, seek a gatherer with a radio to get help first --- and avoid calling 911, unless of course, you really, really, really need help. It is customary for gatherers to have circle/councils/meetings with local EMS services prior to the gathering, it is here where a protocol is worked out to determine the best way to deal with emergencies that require an EMS response.

2 comments:

  1. )))) i will be camping as far away from cellular wavelengths as possible ((((

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  2. Agreed! Lovin' you family! A special thanks to sister babz for making cleanup of council site Washington 2011 possible. Dances with stars

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