2027 QUEER AND BIPOC WFR APPLICATION

This is an application for Kindling Collective and Backcountry Pulse’s Queer and BIPOC Wilderness First Responder (WFR) hybrid course, taking place in China, Maine, January 14-19th. This is a hybrid 80-hour curriculum; students will need to engage in 20-30 hours of pre-course interactive online learning before the 50-hour/6-day in-person program. There is an optional add-on Street Medic Bridge Training Day on January 20th.

Applications  are due by October 19th. 

Students will be notified of decisions by November 3rd.

This application form serves as an initial agreement between Kindling Collective and individual course participants. Each individual must fill out this form themself to accurately represent their personal information as well as their willingness and ability to adhere to our essential eligibility criteria.  

KINDLING COLLECTIVE ESSENTIAL ELIGIBILTY CRITERIA 

Our Essential Eligibility Criteria (EEC) help ensure that participants are well-prepared and a good fit for our programs. As you review the EEC, please consider whether or not you’re willing and able to participate in each item.

1. Relationship with the group. Each participant must be willing and able to.

• Work effectively as a team member by sharing responsibility with group mates in group chores such as cooking, washing dishes, collecting firewood, and filtering water, etc.;
• Recognize and accept that the needs of the group often come above the desires of any one individual group member.
• Contribute to a caring, welcoming, and safe learning environment and exhibit a willingness to participate in program activities;
• Share a tent or room with at least one other group member;
• Understand that evacuations are extremely laborious and can only be conducted in the case of emergency.
• Take a rapid COVID test and submit a photo of that test to Kindling staff in the 24 hours before trip start.

2. Relationship with space and activities. Each participant must be willing and able to:

• Understand the duration and intensity of the activities of the trip as outlined in the sample itinerary and trip description, and be mentally and physically prepared to engage in the activity for the duration of the trip;
• Adapt to the physical, emotional, and social demands of the trip: water, snow, or land travel; sleeping on the ground; living and working 24/7 with others; limited personal time;
• Tolerate significant levels of ambiguity and unfamiliarity that naturally occur while on backcountry trips, such as: changes in diet, sleeping conditions, unfamiliar surroundings, long days, shifting itineraries, and unfamiliar routines;
• Be understanding of scheduling and location changes and other shifting circumstances with short notice;
• Navigate and travel independently to and from program start and end destination(s);
• Recognize the hazards and risks of travel as presented in program materials and verbally throughout the program and comply with recommended measures and directions for risk reduction from program staff;
• Independently perceive, understand, and follow directions and instructions given by others to avoid hazards and/or manage risks;
• Stay alert and to focus attention for up to several hours at a time while traveling in backcountry terrain, attending classes, or receiving instructions. 
• Manage stress in times of crisis, such as when encountering severe weather or a medical emergency. 
• Exercise sound judgment in the absence of direct supervision and alert others of potential hazards observed;
• Abide by the Participant Agreement, program expectations, and guidance of field staff while on the program;
• Come prepared with the appropriate items required in the packing list OR have requested to borrow those items from Kindling. 
• Care for and show respect to the natural environment and Wabanaki people and history. 

3. Relationship with self. Each participant must be willing and able to:

• Maintain proper dosage of any prescription medication by self-medicating without assistance from instructors or others (except possibly in emergency situations);
• Effectively and proactively notify field staff or other participants of personal distress, emotional stress, safety or health concerns, or other needs for assistance;
• Adapt to and cope with disconnection from standard sources of support (e.g., family, friends, doctors, mental health professionals, etc.);
• Proactively act to maintain physical and mental health while on program and accept full responsibility for physical and mental health, including complying fully with medication routines and self-care strategies recommended pre-departure by medical/mental health professionals;
• Communicate proactively, openly, and honestly about any physical or mental health challenges that arise prior to or during the program

4. Wilderness Medicine criteria. In addition to the general Kindling EECs, each participant must be willing and able to:

• Independently complete 20-30 hours of online asynchronous learning before the course.
• Stay alert and to focus for up to eight hours a day in a classroom for the duration of the course.
• Stay alert and to focus for several hours at a time while performing practice patient care in a learning scenario.
• Navigate potentially stressful situations like a simulated crisis or medical emergency.
• Perform all tasks related to patient care, including the log roll of a patient, palpating a patient for injuries from head to toe, perceiving and assessing a patient’s verbal and nonverbal responses to examination. 
• Roleplay as a patient, and consent to being examined and interviewed in a semi-public setting.
• Work effectively as a member of a team in potentially stressful and difficult conditions. This may require problem solving on an interpersonal or group level as well as a willingness to accept differences. 
• Take up an equitable amount of space in the learning environment including sharing the resource of instructor time with other students.