Hug-a-Tree Program Presentation

The Park Ridge Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Search & Rescue Team and Community Outreach Team delivers the Hug-a-Tree and Survive program to teach children how to survive in the woods should they become lost.

Since its inception in 1981, after the search for a 9-year-old California boy ended in tragedy, the Hug-a-Tree program has been presented nationwide to thousands of children and countless lives have been saved as a result.

The Hug-a-Tree and Survive program is offered free of charge and teaches children how to survive in the woods should they become lost. The program was developed primarily for children ages 5 to 12 and teaches a select few of the most basic and vital survival principles.

The presentation lasts 30-40 minutes and includes a short video and other demonstrations aimed at teaching children to tell an adult where they are going, to "hug-a-tree" and stay put if they are lost, how to keep warm and dry in the woods, how to signal for help using a whistle and/or reflector and how to help searchers, on the ground and in the air, find them by making themselves big and by answering their calls.

For more information or to request a Hug-a-Tree and Survive presentation for your school or group, please contact Park Ridge CERT at parkridgecert@gmail.com