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Pinole Students Train with Backcountry Medical Guides at Curry Canyon Ranch

It was a perfect spring day, the sky was clear, California poppies and other native flowers covered the hills, and birds sang overhead. Pinole Valley High School students were scattering to their respective stations to learn the ins-and-outs of wilderness first aid.

During this time of year, Mount Diablo’s landscapes can seem like something right out of a storybook, and we’re lucky to access and enjoy this stunning open space.

Curry Canyon Ranch is a great place to get outside and learn. And a lot of learning was done in just a day. For each lesson, a short lecture was followed by a practical hands-on exercise.

It was the kind of learning that would engage almost anyone, and it was clear that the students were engaged and happy to be there.

Topics that this one-day course covered included tourniquets, making splints, treatment of puncture wounds, addressing head injuries, treating burns, and what do during a major multi-casualty incident.

The course ended with the students practicing a multi-casualty incident triage scenario. A group of students, some with a flair for the dramatic, pretended to have various injuries while their classmates figured out the best way to treat them with minimal help.

By the end of the day, everyone left a little more confident and prepared for a variety of injuries that could occur during a trip into the remote wild lands.

Backcountry Medical Guides is a nonprofit that offers extensive and practical wilderness first aid training. Their work helps prepare people to get outside safely and to be well-prepared in case something goes wrong.

Last year, a group of our staff and volunteers completed their two-day wilderness first-aid course. It’s helped us be better prepared to safely lead our Discover Diablo outings and other events, like Four Days Diablo.

Outdoor Education Is Vital

Kids spend more time indoors than ever before; one study even concluded that the average American youth spends less unstructured time outside than the average prisoner.

One of the best ways to get people to value the environment is to get them to spend time outside. After all, how can we expect people to care about nature if they’re disconnected from it?

We were delighted that this training, which will help empower more people to get outside and connect with nature safely, took place on our land.

Giving people the confidence and ability to enjoy outdoor recreation is an important step towards the protection of Mount Diablo and the Diablo Range.

And of course, the benefits that time spent in nature can have on a person are immense.

Giving the next generation more confidence and opportunities to enjoy nature will yield a lifetime of benefits for everyone, and build our community’s strength to protect Mount Diablo and address the climate crisis.