I just got back from a little over two weeks of training for the SCA Desert Restoration Corps along with 50 others at Mission Creek Preserve near Palm Springs, CA. We covered everything from the why and how of desert restoration to an 8 day wilderness first responder(WFR) course... and we did this without showering for the entire two weeks! Fortunately, it was a great group of individuals that didn't mind a little dirt and sweat, especially during the WFR scenarios and patient assessment.

I definately think the highlight of the two weeks was the WFR training, specifically the multiple casualty incident(MCI) we participated in on the last afternoon of training. I was actually the incident commander for the MCI and was basically in charge of 23 other people. Our scenario was based around 6 wildland firefighters who received various trauma injuries(femur fractures, head/spine injuries, impalements etc.) from a rock fall. We ended up calling one patient DOA(dead on arrival) and lost another that had signs of a severe head injury. Overall, the scenario was great and I kept everything running smooth even though I only had 30 minutes to lay out an organizational structure prior to the event. I find that I definately prefer the leadership role rather than just doing patient care. I really wish I had some pictures for this!!

We also did a service project for the Wildlands Conservancy at Pipes Canyon Preserve on our last day to thank them for allowing us to close down Mission Creek Preserve for two weeks. Pipes Canyon was burnt by a wildland fire this past summer and since desert ecosystems cannot handle fire, we were there to perform some simple restoration work.

And some pictures...