Create a variety of primitive hunting tools and learn to use them in a survival situation. You will also create natural cordage from plant fibers and purify water for drinking.
This weekend bushcraft course is suitable for anyone looking to build their wilderness skills and knowledge base, especially those who plan on backpacking or wild camping. It is an excellent introduction to this fascinating subject.
Introduction
The weekend bushcraft course is designed to give you an introduction into the world of bushcraft and survival skills. You will learn essential wilderness living techniques from experienced instructors.
These outdoor survival skills classes are offered in picturesque natural environments. You’ll build and sleep in debris shelters, forage for wild foods, find and prepare water, track animals and cook over a campfire.
Unlike traditional camping experiences, these courses teach critical survival skills like plant identification, shelter construction and safe knife use. They also cover advanced bushcrafting topics such as primitive tool making, fire lighting and food sourcing. Some of these classes are even adapted to cater for women. This allows ladies to bond with their family members while learning vital survival skills for emergency situations.
Shelters
During the course you’ll learn survival basics like creating a shelter, fire making, foraging for food and finding water. You’ll also gain a better understanding of wilderness priorities and survival psychology.
This course is a great way to learn more about the ‘go-anywhere’ fundamental skill-sets of bushcraft and wilderness survival that will allow you to travel farther for longer with less reliance on modern technology. It’s also a perfect foundation for those wanting to delve into deeper topics of tracking, wild food foraging, fungi, ancient technology and greenwood skills.
A laid-back survival camp environment is the place to be to increase your survivability, self-sustainability and comfort in the outdoors. Learn new survival skills at your own pace around a campfire, and get hands-on experience with primitive survival techniques.
Food
Learn to live off the land sustainably and enjoy wilderness living. You’ll master techniques for lighting fires, identifying edible plants, building shelters, purifying water, and hunting and cooking rabbit, fish or birds. You’ll also gain a comprehensive understanding of how to safely and effectively use knives and saws.
You’ll be given a free bushcraft knife to keep and loaned essential bushcraft tools like saws, axes, tarps and hammocks. You’ll sleep under a tarp for the first night and learn how to make campfire cookery using improvised field-cooked cooking equipment. You’ll also be taught hunting skills, plant identification, fungi, and ancient technology. You’ll also have the opportunity to try your hand at constructing greenwood crafts and carving. The course will also cover animal tracking and navigation.
Water
As the most important survival skill, sourcing water should be top of your priority in a wilderness environment. A good bushcraft instructor will teach you to recognise water sources, to make clean water and to treat contaminated water.
The renowned Thomas Coyne Survival School offers a variety of wilderness survival courses, from the accelerated 1-day Critical Survival Skills Intensive to more leisurely weekend classes. The school also offers a range of outdoor skills workshops such as stone tool making, wild plant identification and wilderness first aid.
Live truly wild for a weekend on an Accredited Bushcraft, Survival and Wilderness Living Skills course. Learn and practice fire lighting, identifying edible plants, shelter construction, trapping and snaring, water purification and hunting and game preparation along with safe knife skills.
Safety
There is a lot of talk about the ability to push yourself hard for extended periods of time in wilderness environments. While this type of mental and physical endurance is admirable, it is important to listen to your body and rest when needed.
During the weekend bushcraft course, participants will learn basic survival techniques in safe and controlled circumstances. This includes understanding and practicing proper knife and axe handling, animal encounters, the psychology of survival, survival priorities and situational awareness.
Wild food preparation skills are also covered. This is particularly important as improperly prepared and handled wild foods can pose serious health risks. This is an integral part of the NCFE CQ Bushcraft qualification and is a supplement to standard outdoor safety training & advice.