Ontario Girl Guides of Canada

Ontario Council contracts facilities and establishes the parameters of each Outdoor Experience. All participants are expected to abide by the policies and procedures of the facility they are attending and respect the facility as if it were their own home.

Each facility offers different accommodations, amenities and varied programming. Each facility varies in its ability to accommodate dietary needs. You can learn more about each facility on their registration form or by emailing on-outdoorexperiencesfaq@girlguides.ca.

Outdoor Experience programs are only available to Guiding members registered for the current Guiding year. Current Try Now, Join Later members are eligible to participate in unit experiences, but they are not eligible for Outdoor Experience Financial Assistance. Sometimes exceptions can be made to allow non-member volunteers to attend, but only if the unit will not meet ratio without a non-member volunteer attending.

Unit Experiences (weekend and day):

• Participants can only register for these experiences as part of a unit (individuals cannot attend alone) and are registered by the Unit Guider (designated the Primary Registrant).
• Guiders register current girl members in their unit for these experiences through the online registration form, found on the Outdoor Experience programs for units web page.
• Payment is through unit bank transfer only.
• A Responsible Guider (RG) must be in place for each Experience. Individuals may indicate their interest in volunteering as the RG on the registration form. If no individuals volunteer, GGCON will select a Responsible Guider from those attending.

Weekend Unit Experiences (All Branches):

• Participants will sleep indoors on beds at each location. Bedding is not provided.
• Accommodation set up varies at each facility. Room assignments for a unit will be made by Ontario Council staff and/or facility staff. Priority will be given to placing units together. Rooming lists will be sent to the Primary Registrant with the pre-arrival handbook approximately two weeks prior to the Outdoor Experience start date.
• Guiders determine which bed in their assigned grouping will go to each of their unit participants.
• Depending on registration numbers, units may need to share accommodations with other GGC units and/or have their unit split into more than one space.
• Guiders will be expected to share the accommodation with girl participants and act in a supervisory manner while there. GGCON follows Safe Guide regulations when assigning sleeping spaces.

• Activity information is listed on the Outdoor Experience page and/or the registration form.
• The staff at each facility will develop and determine the schedule. All activities are subject to change at the discretion of facility staff.
• Some activities may be weather-dependent.
• Documentation outlining how Outdoor Experience activities align with the Girls First program will be provided with the pre-arrival handbook.

We are happy to provide information about our partnering facilities with regards to accessibility. Each facility has varying levels of accessibility. If you have concerns about a participant’s ability to take part in a Fully Serviced Outdoor Experience, please let us know as soon as possible by emailing on-outdoorexperiencesfaq@girlguides.ca. GGCON staff will need to consult with the facility to determine if participants with identified special needs can participate in the Fully Serviced Outdoor Experience. It is the Primary Registrant’s (Unit Guider’s) responsibility to consult with GGCON and the third-party facility to ensure that any individuals she wishes to register for a Fully Serviced Outdoor Experience can be accommodated by the facility. If it is determined that a facility cannot accommodate a registered participant's unique needs, the registration is still subject to the Outdoor Experience cancellation and refund policy. Therefore, Primary Registrants are encouraged to contact GGCON about special needs prior to registering. If girls wishing to attend a unit experience require a support worker to be successful, support workers that meet the criteria below may attend the Experience. The support person must be:

• Female
• Aged 18 years or older
• Can communicate with our camp staff verbally in English (in case of emergency or express the needs of the camper they are supporting)
• Have a valid Police Records Check
• Be available during the entire time the camper is participating in camp (including during transportation of the camper)

In order to successfully register for a Fully Serviced Outdoor Experience, each unit must meet the ratios as indicated on each Experience’s registration page. Experiences are either yellow or red level.

• Sparks = 1:5
• Brownies = 1:5
• Guides = 1:7
• Pathfinders = 1:7*
• Rangers = 1:15*

Accordingly, Spark, Brownie and Guide units must have a minimum of two adult members to meet ratio. Guiders within the Safe Guide ratio attend free of charge.

* Red Level Experiences require a modified supervision ratio of 1:7 for Ranger aged girls. In addition, both Pathfinders and Rangers require a minimum of two adult supervisors.

It is the responsibility of the Primary Registrant (Unit Guider) to ensure that her unit meets ratio. If GGCON finds that a unit does not have enough adults to cover ratio for their Fully Serviced Outdoor Experience, they will be contacted with further direction. If a Fully Serviced Outdoor Experience sells out and a unit has registered but does not have enough adults to cover ratio, they will be required to exchange a girl’s space for an adult space.

Unit Experiences:

• The Unit Guider is responsible for coordinating travel for girls attending an activity.
• All Safe Guide paperwork associated with travel is the responsibility of the Unit Guider.
• Any costs associated with travel are the responsibility of the unit or individual as defined by the Unit Guider.

Before the Experience:

• Register your unit and participants for the Fully Serviced Outdoor Experience. See How to Register. Ensure you provide accurate information and as changes arise, update your registration details. See Cancellations, Changes and Refunds.
• Distribute the necessary information (Outdoor Experience details, packing lists, facility address, paperwork etc.) to the participants you register.
• Follow up with participants to ensure they have completed the required paperwork (Safe Guide and/or third-party paperwork) prior to the experience.
• Submit any third-party paperwork to on-outdoorexperiencesfaq@girlguides.ca by the Thursday two weeks prior to your Outdoor Experience.
• All Safe Guide forms used by the unit need to follow Safe Guide retention and destruction guidelines.
• Units are responsible for arranging their own transportation, completing the associated Safe Guide paperwork and are responsible for any costs associated with travel
• Collect up-to-date health forms for each participant. Bring these to the experience.

While at the Experience:

We want you to be a catalyst for each girl’s success during their Outdoor Experience! In order to best deliver a great experience for the girls, we ask that all Guiders attending a Fully Serviced Outdoor Experience be prepared and agree to the following:

• Represent Girl Guides of Canada, in keeping with the Code of Conduct and demonstrate the values of our Mission, Vision, Promise and Law
• Facilitate check-in with the facility. Ensure all participants registered with your group arrives safely and on time.
• Assist your unit in finding and settling into their accommodations.
• Communicate with the designated Responsible Guider to:
• Let her know about your unit and any supplemental information that may be available.
• Report any incidents that arise within your unit that would require escalation.
• If an emergency situation arises, manage the emergency situation and be sure to inform the Responsible Guider.
• In accordance with Safe Guide, complete an INS. 01 (Incident Report) and provide to the Responsible Guider for signature.
• Ensure medications are administered and recorded as required at the appropriate times for your registered participants.
• Supervise girl participants:
• Supervision is required during non-programmed activity time. This would include meals, sleeping and any breaks during the program. This includes evenings and overnight.
• During program activities, Guiders may be assigned to assist in the supervision of the participants. This could be their own unit or might be a mixed group of units, depending on how the program facilitators choose to develop the program teams.
• Support the program as identified by the facility:
• It is possible that Guiders will be asked to oversee an activity pre-planned by the facility.  This oversight could entail supervision, assistance with program facilitation or with leading the activity (if pre-approved by you) e.g., leading a campfire.
• Help campers pack up at the end of their Outdoor Experience and facilitate pick up.
• Track any found items so that girls can claim anything they may have lost.
• It is the responsibility of each Unit Guider to complete the incident report if needed, but we ask the RG to sign off on the INS.01 and ensure it is submitted to incidents@girlguides.ca.

The designated Responsible Guider will act as a liaison with the facility in the event of an incident or emergency situation.

We want all leaders in your unit to be able to participate in Fully Serviced Outdoor Experiences, including Junior Leaders! Junior Leaders can attend with their unit even if they do not fall within the advertised age range of the Fully Serviced Outdoor Experience if they meet the following requirements:

• They are currently volunteering with a younger branch unit and are listed on the unit's roster as a Junior Leader
• They are registered through the online Fully Serviced Outdoor Experience form as a girl participant
• The unit pays the registration fee for the Junior Leader
• The unit still meets ratio for the younger branch, considering the Junior Leader as a girl in that ratio
• It is understood that the Junior Leader is attending to help with the younger branch and is not attending as the primary program participant

All participants must pay to attend (the exception being adults within Safe Guide ratio). Registration fees for all programs have already been subsidized by Ontario Council, however individual girl participants are eligible to be considered for financial assistance if their circumstances require this support. Please see the Financial Assistance page for more information.

Fees do not include transportation costs.

Fees for Weekend Unit Experiences:

• Girl registrants: $141.25 ($125 + HST)
• Adult registrant within Safe Guide ratio: $0
• Adult registrant outside of Safe Guide ratio: $141.25 ($125 + HST)

Fees for Day Unit Experiences:

• Girl registrants: Up to $15.00, depending on the Experience
• Adult registrant within Safe Guide ratio: $0
• Adult registrant outside of Safe Guide ratio: $16.95 ($15 + HST)

Ontario Council will make final decisions regarding adult registrants and whether they do or do not fall within Safe Guide ratios. Ontario Council will use discretion to determine adult registrant costs. Spark, Brownie, and Guide units must have a minimum of two adult members to meet ratio.

Payment for Unit Experiences:

• Payment method: Payment can only be made through unit bank transfer. Payments are transferred directly from the booking unit’s account in our centralized banking system. Payments via centralized banking do not take place automatically. Processing could take up to 10 days. Once the payment has cleared from your unit banking account, you have been successfully registered.
• Booking Deposit: Four weeks before the Experience start date, a non-refundable deposit (50% for Day Experiences, 10% for Overnight Experiences) plus HST, will be transferred from your unit bank account. The deposit is required for registration and is non-refundable/non-transferable. If there are insufficient funds in a unit's account to cover a deposit payment, the registration may be cancelled, and you will be notified.
• Remaining Balance: Two weeks before your Outdoor Experience, the remaining balance + HST will be automatically transferred from your unit bank account. If there are insufficient funds in a unit's account to cover a balance payment, the unit will be contacted, and the registration may be cancelled.

• As we are not currently being impacted by protective measures and protocols on a grander scale, the Return to In-Person Guiding protocols will be paused for the 2022-2023 Guiding year; this, too, goes for all Outdoor Experiences.
• All participants (both Girls and adults) are required to complete an illness self-assessment prior to in-person activities, Outdoor Experiences included, and are asked to stay home if showing any symptoms of COVID-19 and/or any other communicable illness.
• Guiders are also required to have general response and isolation plans in place for possible exposures to COVID-19 and/or any other communicable illnesses.

• You can cancel your registration without penalty up until the Thursday four weeks before the start date of your experience. You can cancel your registration or make changes to your registration details (e.g., participant numbers, names, dietary requirements) online by using the login details in your confirmation email to access your registration form.
• After this date, you will be charged a deposit. Please be aware that if you wish to cancel your registration after this date, your deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable.
• You can continue to make changes to your registration details online until registration closes.
• Registration closes on the Thursday two weeks prior to the start date of your experience. You will be charged the remaining balance at this time, and your payment will be confirmed.
• Please be aware that if you wish to cancel your registration after this date, your payment is non-refundable and non-transferable.
• If you need to make any changes to your registration details after this date, you must send an email to on-outdoorexperiencesfaq@girlguides.ca. You cannot make changes online.
• All deposits are non-refundable, and deposits cannot be transferred to another Outdoor Experience or unit. However, deposits for planned programs can be transferred to another participant who is joining the experience. Transferred deposits can be used only as deposits. They cannot be applied toward payment of a remaining balance.
• We are unable to offer refunds unless there are extenuating circumstances (e.g., illness, death in the family). Any refund requests related to illness (including COVID-19) must be accompanied by a medical note signed by a doctor and received no later than 10 business days after the end date of the Outdoor Experience. Proof of a positive COVID-19 test may be submitted in lieu of a medical note.
• Refund requests, medical notes, and proof of positive COVID-19 tests may be submitted to on-outdoorexperiencesfaq@girlguides.ca.
• If an Outdoor Experience is cancelled by GGC, a full refund will be issued.
• Cancellations due to extreme weather, and any applicable refunds resulting from such cancellations, are at the discretion of the facility where the experience takes place.
• Refunds are provided via the same method used to pay for the experience.

Whenever possible, GGCOC aims to negotiate the exclusive use of facilities for weekend unit Outdoor Experiences for our members. Based on availability and geographic location, in order to provide the widest range of Experiences possible for our members, GGCOC may have to share a facility with another rental group. If this is the case, members will be informed prior to registration. GGCOC will ensure that if the facility is being shared, GGCOC members will have private sleeping quarters, exclusive use of the dining hall for mealtimes and exclusive programming times/areas.

There will be male staff at most facilities. The facility owner and/or operator is aware of and knows that we will need to follow our Safe Guide regulations in regards to this presence.

All of these policies have been reviewed and implemented by the provincial office and there is no additional work required from you.

At no time will male staff be permitted into sleeping, dressing or hygiene areas while girls are present unless they are responding to an emergency situation at the request of the Responsible Guider.

Use of Tobacco

No adult member, GGC employee or non-member volunteer shall smoke or vape tobacco in the presence of girls at a GGC property, or at a GGC activity or event. GGC strongly recommends that all GCC events be smoke-free. For Outdoor Experiences, Girl Guides must follow the regulations as set out by the facility and regulating agencies.

Use of Cannabis

• Cannabis edibles are never permitted on any GGC property or at any GGC activity due to the potential risk of them being eaten unintentionally by girls or any member or volunteer.
• Consumption of non-prescription topicals, oils, sprays and any other cannabis product as well as smoking or vaping of non-prescription cannabis is not permitted at any time, at any location during activities that are planned primarily for girl members. For example, Guiders and non-member volunteers may not smoke cannabis even after the girls have gone to bed.
• Consumption of doctor prescribed cannabis is permitted medication that could have an impact on a supervisor’s ability to supervise girls must not be taken by those in a supervisory capacity (see Supervision Ratios for details about medication that could have an impact on a supervisor’s ability to supervise girls). If consumption is through smoking, it must not be smoked or vaped in the presence of girls.

Use of Alcohol

Consumption of alcohol is not permitted at any time during activities that are planned primarily for girl members. For example, Guiders and non-member volunteers may not have a glass of wine even after the girls have gone to bed.

The building or site booked should be left in the same condition that it was in at the time of arrival. Here are some tips to keep the reserved building or site in good condition:

• Prevent any furniture, chairs, or benches from being dragged across the floors.
• Do not allow graffiti. Graffiti is considered anything written on any piece of the property, including names and initials.
• Use bulletin boards to post signs.
• Do not tape, paste, glue or tack anything to walls.
• Pick up litter and dispose of it in appropriate waste receptacles.
• Report any damage as soon as possible to the on-site facility staff.

The group will pay for the cost of any repair and/or replacement for damages incurred, over and above regular wear and tear. The repair/replacement fee will be calculated at the full replacement value of items, including installation costs.

These Experiences will be communal living-style, so each participant will be required to respect one another and the facilities they are in by keeping them tidy. At the end of their stay they will be responsible for, at minimum, sweeping out the facility, ensuring everything is returned to the way it was when they arrived, removal of all belongings, disposal of garbage as defined by the facility and any other general upkeep that may be required.

During meals and group activities, participants may be assigned to group responsibilities such as setting tables, clearing tables, bringing food to tables, sweeping up after meals, leading songs, leading games etc.

These Experiences are all part of learning to live communally and it is expected that each participant will join in when it is their turn to do so.

Girl Guides of Canada, Ontario Council, nor its employees, assume any responsibility for equipment that is lost, stolen, or damaged, brought into or left on the premises, whether by permission or otherwise.

The animals, snakes, birds, and fish had their home at camp long before campers arrived. Please respect the privileges of all wildlife. Do not touch any bird or animal, dead or alive, at any time. Report any dead animals to the on-site facility staff. Please do not pick wildflowers or cut or remove branches from live trees. Leave only your footprints. Take only your memories!

Pets are not permitted at any Outdoor Experience facility and should be left at home. Service animals are not considered pets and are permitted. However, you must notify on-outdoorexperiencesfaq@girlguides.ca at least two weeks in advance if a participant requires a service animal.

All participants should respect that these activities are designed to be unplugged for the duration of participation. However, we respect that phones are used as cameras and participants wish to capture memories, therefore, phones/cameras are permitted on site with the following restrictions that girls and adults must respect:

Night time:

At night phones are to be silenced so that ringers/alerts are not a distraction to anyone in the sleeping area.

It is up to the Unit Guider of the girls she is supervising to define the protocols for use and storage. In the case out Outward Bound Outdoor Experiences, it is up to the Responsible Guider.

Adult members who wish to have a conversation on their phone while the girls are in their sleeping space should remove themselves from this area so that it is not a distraction to girls trying to sleep. However, they should ensure there is appropriate supervision of the girls before they relocate to another area.

Sleeping, Dressing and Washroom Areas

Phones/cameras are not permitted in any place where a participant’s right to privacy might be violated. Therefore, the use of cameras, whether stand alone or on a phone, are not permitted to be used in any of these locations.

During Program Activities:

Phones are permitted only for the purpose of taking pictures during activities. This applies to girl and adult participants.

Communication via Phone:

It is up to the Unit Guider to set parameters for a girl participant to be communicating via her phone outside program times. In the case out Outward Bound Outdoor Experiences, it is up to the Responsible Guider.

Adult participants must use discretion in their own communications and ensure that they remove themselves to a discreet location and do not interrupt any activities that may be underway. At no time should an adult member speak with someone external to the event when they are supervising girls attending the event.

Social Media:

No pictures of any participant should be posted without the express permission of those in the picture. Consult Safe Guide for full details on Image Release forms and protocol.