20 minute bushcraft in the park?

[user24]

I like to go for a walk every morning before work. I get about 20 minutes walking around a local park. Anyone have any ideas what I might be able to do during that time to practice any bushcraft skills? It's a typical park really, a couple of trees lining the paths, one or two overgrown areas but mostly rough grass. There's a canal running through it too with some wildlife (bullrushes, geese, ducks). A few tennis courts... lmao

At the moment I'm thinking:

• Tree identification
• Wild food ID.
• Tracking (?!?)

Anyone have any other ideas?

 

[ged]

Weather forecasting.

 

[Man of Tanith]

harvesting resources? birch bark, reedmace down and so on

 

[Bushwhacker]

Forget tracking. Seriously, it'll make you late for work!

Whenever I walk to work across the fields I get too easily sidetracked and am always late because I'm stopping to look at stuff.

 

[MartiniDave]

You can do worse than just sit and watch and drink in the surroundings a few times, then, after a while, the possibilities may just present themselves to you, as you notice what's there and what's going on.

 

[blacktimberwolf]

Getting arrested for loitering !

 

[Shewie]

You can do worse than just sit and watch and drink in the surroundings a few times, then, after a while, the possibilities may just present themselves to you, as you notice what's there and what's going on.

Nothing better than sitting in the park with a 3L bottle of cider

 

[andyc54]

Nothing better than sitting in the park with a 3L bottle of cider

yep especialy with my job i sometimes need 3 litres to pluck up the courage to go in

 

[Retired Member southey]

Try to identify soil acidity by plant types?

 

[sasquatch]

Which park are you in?

 

[user24]

Lots of great suggestions, thanks everyone

Which park are you in?

Hello to a fellow Northamptonian! I live right in the town center so it's becket's park for me. Wanna meet up one morning (I normally go around between 8 and 8.30 ish)? I am a complete newbie though I warn you

 

[MartiniDave]

As long as you don't both wear your goretex macs!

 

[Stringmaker]

A good skill to practice as you are walking is making simple two-ply cordage.

If you've got any nettles near you then now is getting to be a good time to harvest them, flatten the stems then peel the fibres off and let them dry. Once you've got a bunch then you can twist them up into cord; it's a simple skill but the more you do it the better your cord will be in terms of tightness and consistency of thickness.

Don't think that I am obsessed with cordage, despite my username; it is just the first simple skill I learned to do that's all

 

[user24]

hmm, that's a nice idea. I'm enjoying knotting paracord at the moment, so learning to make natural cordage makes sense.

 

[sasquatch]

As long as you don't both wear your goretex macs!

Especially since Beckett's Park is known for man on man action! It's a lovely park to be honest.

As yourself and others have suggested, food and tree ID with the help of Colins Gems, harvesting natural tinders and just generally taking in the views would be my goals.

PM sent User24...

 

[rik_uk3]

20 minutes in the park is not long enough to do more than enjoy a quarter bottle of wine and some pate and water biscuits; perhaps an apple to follow.

 

[armie]

You could practice your knots... not in your head, but with your hands.

 

[spandit]

Try rigging & de-rigging a hammock

 

[user24]

went swimming tonight and then headed to the park for an hour with my fiancee.

We took a tree ID book and after some debate identified a Beech tree, and then we rigged up a ridge line between two big trees (pines of some kind), which was a massive learning experience for us both. Tying the dinner table legs together (what we've been doing to practice so far!) is much easier. I think we chose trees that were too big, because getting it taut was very tricky. (also we know that big trees=big branches falling on you, but we didn't have a lot of choice in the park). I also learned what a difference the placement of the knots makes. I tied a lovely taut line, and then put some weight on it and the knots at each end moved round the trunk and made the line slack. So then I re-tied it making sure the knots are centered to the tree trunk and that helped.

So yeah. I know it's only baby steps, but I was impressed at how much I learned in just an hour. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone, keep em coming!

 

[spandit]

You need my paracord whoopie ridgeline!