BY MATT SCHOOLEY

A group of children and adults now know what to do if they become lost in one of New Hampshire’s many forests, thanks to Hopkinton’s Little Nature Museum.

The museum hosted two sessions, one for grades 6 through 8 and another for adults,  taught by wilderness expert Rudy Bourget of Weare.

Bourget taught many of the simple essentials to being rescued when lost in the woods and gave the group a chance to apply those skills firsthand on the nature trail of Gould Hill Orchard.

“The most important thing I learned was to stay in one spot and not to use up all your energy walking around,” said Colby Tawney, 11, of Hopkinton, who attended the course.

Students were also given a survival bag, which included  a whistle, a glow stick and a plastic bag.

After learning about how to conserve body temperature and where to set up once they  discover they’re lost, the group set up a place to sit in the woods, focusing on the wind and the dampness of the ground.

“It’s really important for him to come out here, because it does happen sometimes. I remember other cases of it happening,” said Dennis Laboe of Concord, whose son, Scott, took part in the exercise. “You hope it doesn’t happen, but it’s good for him to know the things he can do if it does.”

Bourget has been involved with Boy Scouts for more than 20 years and has been studying outdoor survival skills for about 40 years.

“I think it’s good for me to be able to teach them the basic, simple stuff of what to do so they can learn the things to carry with them in order to be found,” he said. “I’ve been involved with the Scouts for so long, but I’ve been looking for a way to reach more kids, and this was a good way to do it.”

The instructor also taught a survival course for adults later in the day, which, he said, was slightly more indepth. However, two aspects of the day still stand as the most important no matter what age a person is.

“The two biggest things are to tell someone where you are going when you go into the woods and to stop and stay where you are if you’re lost. That way, if someone knows you are gone and you don’t come back for a while, they’ll know where to look,” he said.