How to camp safe

Bear watch
• Pack food and items that have a strong odour (toothpaste, hand lotion, soap, sunscreen, bug repellent) in a separate pack from your other supplies. Suspend this pack by rope from the sturdiest branch of a tree 100 metres away from your tent or trailer.

• Make sure your cooking station is well away from where you sleep.

• Avoid cooking with foods that have a strong odour, such as bacon.

• Vary your reaction to an attacking bear according to what kind it is: If it's a male, stand tall, wave your arms and yell; if it's a female with cubs, lie on your stomach, wrap your arms behind your neck, keep your legs apart to anchor yourself and play dead.

Poison Plants
Ivy: “Leaves of three? Let it be!” refers to this shrub, which generally has three or more spoon-shaped leaves.

Oak: The leaves of poison oak have three to seven leaflets per leaf group. Poison oak can grow as a vine or a shrub.

Sumac: Poison sumac has seven to 13 leaflets per leaf stem, which have smooth edges with pointed tips. This plant can grow as a shrub or small tree.

• If you or a family member has been in contact with any of these plants, wash the skin immediately with soap and water to prevent a reaction, which can appear up to 48 hours after contact.

• If you do get a reaction, clean the area with soap and water, then apply wet compresses or take cool baths to relieve symptoms. Over-the-counter antihistamines and calamine lotion may help. If your reaction is moderate to severe (swelling of the face, neck, genitals or eyelids, and widespread large blisters that ooze large amounts of fluid) you may need medical attention.

Building a safe campfire
• Build the fire near water and sheltered from the wind. It should be on rock or bare dirt surface at least 15 metres from your tent and three metres from logs, stumps, trees and overhanging branches.

• Clear a two-metre circular area of pine needles, leaves or debris that could catch fire, if you're building a fire on dirt.

• Make sure that your campfire is not larger than one metre high and one metre wide.

• Douse the fire with water to put it out, then stir the remains with a stick to expose any burning coals. Douse the fire pit again and put your hand over the ashes to make sure they have cooled.

• Don't put rocks around your campfire. They can shelter hidden coals and start a new fire. If rocks are there already, move them around after dousing the fire and make sure there isn't anything still burning.

Campground cleanliness tips
• Regularly wash your hands with biodegradable soap and water, and use hand sanitizer for in-between washes.

• Tell your kids not to touch wild animals or reptiles; they could be very dirty and carry diseases.

• Don't touch turtles because they can be infected with salmonella, a bacteria that causes stomach pains, fever and bloody diarrhea in humans.

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