Bushcraft as a Duke of Edinburgh's Award Skill

[Zodiak]

I have a group of 14 year olds who want to do "Bushcraft" as a DofE Skill, ands I have agreed to arrange it for them.

The offical words are http://www.theaward.org/participants/index.php?ids=1183&id=1046

These are just guidelines, its for the Silver Award so I need 24 hours over a period of 6 months, ie hour per week.

My initial thoughts are to cover the following in 4 hour sessions

- Firelighting, including gathering differrent tyoes of wood, knowing what they are used for, fire steel, laying out a fire and keeping it going
- Open fire cooking
- Using and sharpening a knife, including makeing a useful gadget or tool
- Identifying trees and plants, including some forraging and cooking
- Clothing, rucksacks, boots and other equipment including tarps and hammocks
- Bring it all together over 24 hours, introducing Fire Drills if time.

They would be able to miss one session and still complete the final day.

Does this sound reasonable?

 

[Matt Weir]

That's a brilliant idea Zodiak. I wish this kind of thing was available when I was a kid.

Good luck.

Matt.

 

[Heathenpeddler]

Can I sign up? I can lie about my age...

 

[Mr_Rimps]

Marvelous idea Zodiak.
I hadn't realised bushcraft was listed as a skill for DofE. May have to promote the idea with my explorers

Only comments I have is to perhaps include shelter building (including hammock slinging) as a separate 4 hour session and add the axe when doing the knife use.

I'd be interested in how the session go.

Good luck
Andy

 

[hammock monkey]

should be compulsory if you ask me!
loads of great values like perseverence, honesty with yourself, etc as well as improving memory, attention etc too
the understanding of the bigger picture is a great way to inspire kids...helps keep them interested in things other than cider!

...that comes later

 

[Zodiak]

Marvelous idea Zodiak.
I hadn't realised bushcraft was listed as a skill for DofE. May have to promote the idea with my explorers

I have one lad who is desperate so I rang Gilwell to see if I could bend another section to fit and they pointed out that it was there!

Only comments I have is to perhaps include shelter building (including hammock slinging) as a separate 4 hour session and add the axe when doing the knife use.

I would love to do shelter building but the camp site we are going to use is only 2 acres, sparesely wooded but very little brush and the owner has asked us not to :-(

I already have 3 mini hammocks in various states of disrepair which I need to sort out and teh tarps will come from http://www.tarpaflex.co.uk/ the ones I am buying are 10' * 8' and cost around £7 each. Opps need to buy some para cord too!

We have been "lent" a shed to keep stuff in so I could look at building up a stock of poles and ship in bags of brush. There would enough leaf litter.

As for axes... I like the idea but I don't have one and havn't used one for 20 years so would have to practice

I am hoping to start in April do this again each year, but this year we have a bit of a camp at the end of May to sort out first

 

[Steve R]

I would love to do shelter building but the camp site we are going to use is only 2 acres, sparesely wooded but very little brush and the owner has asked us not to :-(

Truck some in and remove it after use?

 

[FGYT]

That's a brilliant idea Zodiak. I wish this kind of thing was available when I was a kid.

Good luck.

Matt.

unless your over 100yrs old etc it was and still is in the scouts

 

[useless]

We've used this as a skill area several times for DoE people, and have also generated an AQA accreditation for those who want to go that route and have a 12 week course written up and ready to roll at a moments notice (designed by young people).

With regards to the DoE thing, I'd encourage some "home work" outside of the taught sessions. Perhaps charge some of them with building a knapsack using natural materials and a piece of canvass, set others a task of building a stretches with rope and bits of a tree, and another group the task of building a bed. That way they will need to go and do a bit of independent research, and possibly discover one of the most useful bushcraft tools know... the internet and this very forum! They might also learn a bit more about self reliance.

Given that many may want to go on to do an expedition, how about "bush craft first aid skills"? Even if it's just about being able to relate your current location to a map and give a reference point over a phone.

Just some thoughts!

 

[Zodiak]

We've used this as a skill area several times for DoE people, and have also generated an AQA accreditation for those who want to go that route and have a 12 week course written up and ready to roll at a moments notice (designed by young people).

Any chance of a copy please?
I have spoken to the people most likely to do this and nthey all had differrent requirments, one wanted to concentrate on knife skills and leather making, while another only wanted to forrage for wild food and cook it, there was no real overlap so what I proposed was very much a comprimise plus a promise of one on one time for each individual.

Given that many may want to go on to do an expedition, how about "bush craft first aid skills"? Even if it's just about being able to relate your current location to a map and give a reference point over a phone.

Just some thoughts!

I am avoiding too many close links with the expedition section as some might see it as a way of reducing 4 sections to 3. I have no problem with them using bushcraft skills for that, but I won't be assessing them and not everybody would understand using tarp and hammock rather than tent We have enough problems if they try to light a fire

Ironically we are using First Aid as the service section so again it could blur the boundaries, but if we were not doing that it could have been included.

Thanks for the ideas, I will make a note for next time. :You_Rock_

 

[useless]

Pm me an e-mail addy and I'll copy the files over to you.

We used Garrick, from Forest Knights, to deliver our course. A good all rounder, although something of a hippy.

 

[Matt Weir]

unless your over 100yrs old etc it was and still is in the scouts

Unfortunately I didn't attend scouts. I did however take my kids to scouts for a couple of years until it disbanded a while back but to be honest it was a bit of a joke. It was ran by what I think were 3 of the other kids Mums and was based in the junior school but the only activities they did were playing games and making Christmas cards and the like with no outside activities what-so-ever unless you class a knockabout game of football if the weather was nice. I'm sure that if you were to mention the term 'bushcraft' to them the response would have been 'bushwhat?'

Not sure what my point is, I suppose my limited experience of the scout movement has been somewhat disappointing.

I'm thinking this was the exception rather that the rule having read some of the scout leaders posts here though, you guys seem to do it properly.

Matt.