Help please!!!

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WoodWildling

Forager
Oct 16, 2008
122
0
New Forest
www.bigskyliving.co.uk
hi guys (n girls of course)

I have to run a 30-45 minute session for a bunch of outdoor instructors on friday and would like to do something bushcrafty. does anyone have any suggestions for quick, simple things to do for the session?

Ideas I had: make some cordage - (but whats available to use now in winter?), make a candleholder or fish-hook.
I would start with safety and knife use etc..

Any suggestions welcome!!

Cheers guys

Liz
 

durulz

Need to contact Admin...
Jun 9, 2008
1,755
1
Elsewhere
Yes, different ways of rigging a tarp is a good one.
I think you should ensure it is 'outdoorsy'.
Cordage is good, but it can also be done indoors. So think of something specific to outdoors.
Shame about fire, since that is an obvious one and will always look impressive.
Woodsmoke's idea is a good one - a practical skill, limited scope for you to go wrong, and a good practical element. Only draw back is that you will need more than one tarp...
You can also marry it up with other practical tarp advice - tarp is top of the pack so it's the first thing out and rigged up to keep all other kit dry - puts the knowledge in context and shows its usefullness.
What about axe/knife sharpening? Whipping a blade out will catch their attention and you can tick all sorts of health and safety boxes by giving them a jolly thorough safety talk to show you understand the dangers etc.
Best of luck with the session and let us know how it goes.
 

Ogri the trog

Mod
Mod
Apr 29, 2005
7,182
71
60
Mid Wales UK
Hi WW
I've been trying to think of a suitable subject for you, but some items in your post keep nagging at me. You have 30 - 45 minutes with a group of outdoor instructors - so you have not very much time with a group that potentially already knows a lot about whatever subject you choose. I recon you should go with a topic that you are passionate about and can answer some searching questions on.
Is it as part of a job interview or promotion? If so, they might be looking at how well you can put your subject across and not how well you know the topic at hand.

Either way, I hope it goes well and you get a good result from it.

ATB

Ogri the trog
 

JohnC

Full Member
Jun 28, 2005
2,624
82
62
Edinburgh
trimming and cutting sticks to make a pot hanger.
there is knife safety to talk about doing that, you show a variety of cuts and you have a useable item at the end, you can hang the pot on etc without a fire. This assumes there is a bit of lawn or ground to put sticks in
 
Fire lighting every time! Get them to collect some birch bark, some pencil thin twigs and some a bit thicker.

Light the birch bark with firesteels, hold the really thin twigs over the flame until they catch, hold the thicker twigs over that.......5 minute fires. Always a winner!
 

IntrepidStu

Settler
Apr 14, 2008
807
0
Manchester
Fire lighting every time! Get them to collect some birch bark, some pencil thin twigs and some a bit thicker.

Light the birch bark with firesteels, hold the really thin twigs over the flame until they catch, hold the thicker twigs over that.......5 minute fires. Always a winner!


She already said that fire isnt an option mate.
 

robin wood

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Oct 29, 2007
3,054
1
derbyshire
www.robin-wood.co.uk
yup i though about fire lighting but the site which i have to use is restricted and i have been told that i'm not allowed to light fires :(
thanks for the reply, keep em coming guys :)

Is there any way round the rules? You are not going to light a fire, just get them to do flint and steel or bow drill fire and as soon as the tinder budle goes up drop it in a bucket of water or on an upturned metal dustbin lid. Given 30-40 minutes it is the perfect thing.
 

JohnC

Full Member
Jun 28, 2005
2,624
82
62
Edinburgh
I've lit fires at a demonstration day at scouts and had a metal bin to put the bundles in, and a bucket of water nearby, that satisfied the organisers for thier "no fires" policy.

IR that we also had a good scout/cub session with "packing a backpack: what to have where and how to take the pack on and off" Location of FAK and waterproofs etc, using the belt and chest straps correctly.
 

Mike Ameling

Need to contact Admin...
Jan 18, 2007
872
1
Iowa U.S.A.
www.angelfire.com
A bit late, since this is already Friday, but ...

How about cooking with hot rocks? A handful of golf ball sized granite rocks can be heated up in an oven or in a pan on a small stove. Then have a couple wood bowls with water and whatever else in them. Then drop a clean hot rock in to show how it transfers its heat to the food you want to cook. Or use a hot rock to heat up a cup of coffee.

If you have a big enough flat rock, set it on your "stove" to heat up, and then fry an egg on it.

This can also the expand to simple bent stick tongs for picking up the rocks, and cooking/boiling things when you don't have a metal or ceramic pan/pot to put over your "fire". You could even soft or hard boil an egg in a paper sack full of water - without having that sack be over a fire --- a twist on that old boy scout trick.


Another possibility? How to use a blanket to sleep in or wrap up in. Like lying down across it diagonally, then folding the bottom "corner" up over your feet and the two side "corners" up over you - giving you 2 to 3 layers of blanket over you for warmth.

Or wearing that blanket like a cloak, body wrap, shawl, or poncho. Holding it in place with "found" pins.

Making an improvised cot or stretcher out of a blanket. Lay it out flat. Lay two long poles on it about 1/3 in from each side. Then lap both outside part up and over those poles. If those poles are resting on a log or some rocks on each end, you now have a "cot" to keep you up off of the ground. And your weight will hold the blanket in place. Or the weight of the person lying upon it will hold it in place as you use it as a stretcher to carry them out. You can do the same thing with two ropes tied between trees if they are far enough apart. This was often done to make a quick cradle for babies.

Just some thoughts to share.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
 

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