Adult

Human tracking is a key element in the realm of Scout skills. In this course we will focus on human tracking  in teams with security following subjects who dont want to be followed.  We will cover subject ID, track aging, trailing in varied substrates, gait interpretation, site interpretation, counter tracking, team movement and tactics, and much more.  The ability to follow trails, analyze them for key information, discover their age, and build a profile of your subject is a game changer.  We will interpret camp sites and cache spots, and investigate how to see through counter tracking.

We will be taking a look at  bow drill, a fire by friction technique, and bring it to an elevated level both in material and technique.  To create a kit that is long term as well as beautiful we will craft a high performing flex bow out of osage orange and peck a stone handhold that will never have to be replaced.  We will also take a look at techniques and various ways to troubleshoot and modify your kit so that you can be versitile as you coax fire from wood.

Understanding birds, their behavior and their language is a key to understanding the natural world at large. The eyes and ears of the forest, birds can be constantly keying us in to deeper levels of knowing what is happening around us, the health of the ecosystems, and linking layers of the ecosystem together in exciting ways.

This class will be a 2-day beginners-oriented exploration of the various black smithing techniques useful in the creation of tools & crafts related to outdoor living skills.

A weekend of archery fun! 3d target course through the woods, moving target challenges, archery competitions, and a flaming arrow shoot. Long bows and self bows only. More info soon!

*This class is no longer happening in April and is rescheduled for August 15th-16th.

Join us for day of learning the entire process of bringing an animal from whole to breaking it down into its many useful parts. Learn to get over the confusion and fear of what to do, and learn to take part in the creation of your food from the most basic level.

Late fall offers us a bounty of food. From roots at the peak of their energy storage, to fall nut harvests, to the last greens surviving the frost, the late Autumn landscape still provides foods to explore and harvest. This course will go into the seasonably available foods, as well as preparation and processing of across, one of the most abundant and nutritious or fall edibles. 

Come out to Roots for the day to learn a bit of botany as you discover delicious wild edible plants you can harvest off the landscape! We will focus on how to identify plants, taste plants, and talk about preparations about how to include wild plants in your diet. Expect to hike a bit, rain or shine.

Some kids and teens love plants!  I have decided to open this class up to those younger that 18.   Please note that this class will be run as an adult class to which it is open to younger folks who are excited to learn and can focus along with a parent or guardian.

Spring!  The time to eat your greens!  This is also a fantastic time to learn the basal rosettes of so many biennial plants that have edible roots.   We will spend the day identifying various plants, nibbling, and putting together a salad of wild greens and sauteing of foraged roots.  This is a great way to get into a foraging practice for the rest of the growing season.