Bushcraft sessions at this amazing festival
Last year’s Camp Wildfire was a great success, half adventure camp and half music festival for adults only. Located at a secret woodland location in Kent, with easy access from London, there was a huge range of activities to engage with; zip wires, archery, sword fighting, knife throwing, horse riding, yoga, painting, crafts and loads more and then music, dance and partying into the small hours. Continue reading “What’s happening at Camp Wildfire?”
A few of the regular attending families had asked if they could bring their mothers along for the walk – what a lovely idea and it meant we had three generations enjoying a walk together! There is something quite special about taking families out for a walk in the woods. With our own children now young men, it’s lovely to see other peoples children enjoy the simple things in life and be inquisitive about nature. Continue reading “Mothers day – family friendly guided woodland walk”
What a great way to start the day with the inaugural netwalking event taking place at Hodgemoor Woods on the outskirts of Chalfont St Giles. We met in the woodland car park at 8:30 and after brief introductions set off on a guided woodland walk. The idea is simple, enjoy some fresh air, connect with nature, chat with like minded people and depart at the end refreshed ready for the business day ahead! Continue reading “Inaugural netwalking event in the Chilterns”
So just what is Bushcraft? In a literal sense, it’s the skills required to live in the bush. The bush being a commonly used term to describe an area of wild country, one that is remote and does not generally have much if any habitation.
Living in the bush could be just the construction of a shelter, building of a fire and finding water and food. Whilst these are clearly important priorities, they are the bear essentials, they are more about surviving rather than really living. Living is more than just surviving (I hope you agree), so the skills required to live will extend beyond these basics as well as expanding upon them to make life comfortable and enjoyable, whilst living away from the conveniences of modern life. Continue reading “What is Bushcraft?”
Natural history is an integral part of Bushcraft. In fact without an appreciation and understanding of flora and fauna, would really be missing out in a big way. Bushcraft covers a wide range of topics, I like to think that these fall broadly into the three areas of teaching; outdoor living skills, natural history and woodland crafts. These areas all overlap!
To be successful in living outdoors you need to understand at least some natural history, for instance which plants provide good tinder. Studying trees and plants help you appreciate the environment you are in and perhaps understand a little of it’s history. Similarly, when carving a spoon or fashioning a pot knowing which tree the wood came from or the properties of the bark you are using is fundamental to the object you create. Continue reading “Field studies fold-outs”