Need my idea picked apart

[Scottishwanderer]

My current situation is that i have no job and there are no college course that i wan't to do. Even applying for several jobs per day isn't getting me anywhere.

So needing to fill my time i decided to make my own college course.
Which is bushcraft, i study lots of bushy stuff then spend 8 hours practicing/ experimenting with them each day.
I compile all my empircal findings in a notepad, 1700 pages this month! but thats mainly because i record details that no one but me would have an interest in.

I've only been doing the bushy thing since january but in terms of hours spent practicing i think i've got a march on most.

Now after a few years studying i hopefully will be able to find a job as an instructor.

However i need actual experience of teaching, as mine consist of showing friends and mostly the neighbours dog various skills.

So my idea was to just advertise in a paper, about some bushcraft instruction (for free) and gain experience instructing this way.

 

[Scottishwanderer]

What are the legal pitfalls? I'm in scotland so i don't need permission for land.

I'm in the process of doing a first aid course, so if my idea is possible i'll get that first.

 

[spandit]

Good idea to offer it for free - no comebacks if you find out you can't teach effectively. Good luck!

 

[Scottishwanderer]

Also i won't be claiming i'm an expert, i'll offer instruction on skills i have experience using.

 

[Robbi]

keep all your notes incase you decide to write a book later, good luck with it

 

[Maggot]

Insurance, for one.

Also, why are you writing so much down? You will have no awarding body to impress, just spend a few quid on Wisemans book, and you will have all your stuff, plus pictures, from a respected expert. If it goes wrong, your insurance company will want to know where you trained, in fact they probably want to know beforehand.


"Also i won't be claiming i'm an expert, i'll offer instruction on skills i have experience using." Sorry, but you will be offering instruction, so you will be seen as an expert. If someone goes to a course of yours, expect to get chased if anything goes wrong later with a skill you have taught them. So get insured.

The Access Rights in Scotland do not mean the whole countryside is your free playground, just you have access to it. If you are teaching some people a skill, and they fall over a barbed wire fence, it won't be the landowner they sue, it'll be you, so guess what..... insurance.

I reckon a basic teaching course should be your first port of call, then some serious reading and studying of writing risk assessments, because guess who will need to see them if there's a problem..... the insurance company.

Think of something like WGL or ML Training as well, then insurance can be got through the SMC.

Did I mention insurance?

 

[Scottishwanderer]

Thanks maggot this is what i need.

I assumed that it being volantary would mean i wouldn't need insurance but i was wrong and now i do

I wasn't planning on taking 20 folk of into the middle of nowher, i was thinking 2 or 3 to a local woodland that is enough out the way to warrant using it but not too far away that 20 mins won't get you back to town.

I take so much notes because after reading SAS survival guide and various other survival bushcraft books i found them all very vague.

For example the SAS survival guide has a small bit on the figure 4 deadfall and a wee pic on how to make it.

I thought that was good but i wanted to know, the animalls that can be caught using it, the approximate weight needed to kill the animal that was most most likely to go into it, the height that weight needed to be to kill and still be effective, how to make it more sensitive, where to put them, how to know where to put them etc, thus through a lot of research i have 81 a4 pages of notes relating only to figure 4 dea

 

[Robbi]

good on you mate........this is why i mentioned writing a book earlier.

maybe you could get each set of notes published as you do them...learning and income combined sound a great idea

 

[Ogri the trog]

As strange as it may seem, a Fire Safety Certificate and Risk Assessment Course so you know how to assess the activities you intend to conduct - might be an idea too....

ATB

Ogir the trog

 

[Scottishwanderer]

good on you mate........this is why i mentioned writing a book earlier.

maybe you could get each set of notes published as you do them...learning and income combined sound a great idea

I would love to do that, however i'm not too good at turning a pile of notes into something that is clear and readable. Plus most of it is so in depth that it is probably not something people would read.

Also it only has info on there use in Scotland but that would be with maybe a few additions cover the whole of Britain. So geographically a lot of my notes are not far reaching but then again a lot are just as good anywhere on this latitude.

 

[woodspirits]

great idea go for it! dont get bogged down with the pitfalls, you'll talk yourself out of it. look upon it as sharing your newfound knowledge, invite people to pass on what you know, for free, this doesnt make you an expert. on a very informal basis like this you have no liability, i organise regular meets does this make me liable? no.

when and if you have the confidence and ability to hold peoples attention with your 'skill sharing' then consider going down the formal route, just my opinion

steve

 

[drewdunnrespect]

First off what an Ausome idea secondly go for it lad don't let anyone talk u out of it but
Remember

Insurance unless its informal
Now also fire safety and first aid

Now can I ask how u got started cos I would love to learn more areas of bushcraft but how
To get started is an other matter cos putting theory in to
Practice I find difficult cos I would rather have some one show me

Any ways hope u go for it and it works out

Drew

 

[Eric_Methven]

There are a number of BTCV groups in Fife. You could join one of them as a volunteer and see if you can offer some bushcraft skills day courses. You would then have some people to practice your teaching skills on and you'd come under their public liability insurance.

If not BTCV, try and find out if there are any friends groups who look after some wild or woodland area. Rancid Badger and I are both members of Friends of Chopwell Wood, and have run some pretty decent bushcraft courses there for the general public. These were organised through the friends group and administered by the Forestry Commission who own the wood. Again, we were covered by their PLI.

Once you develop your skills as an instructor, and your face gets known, you may well get offers from other people/groups to come and do some teaching for them. Another option is to become a volunteer ranger for the FC. You'll get plenty of opportunity to show your initiative and run public courses.

If you can start your new career under the umbrella of a large, well known organisation it not only looks good on your CV, but it takes an enormous amount of pressure off you that you would find if you just tried to go solo.

Eric

 

[Robbi]

the above is spot on advice, well done that man

 

[Graham_S]

Why not find a Scout group?

 

[SI-Den]

There is some good advice in here!

I've had it in mind for a while that I'd like to do a similar thing - become an instructor.

I've got some experience - started 'camping out' at 16 (am now 38) & spent some time in the army (Royal Army Medical Corps) but lack teaching / instructing experience & qualifications.

So I joined the army cadets as an instructor - they train you up an do courses on first aid, methods of instruction, lesson plans & risk assessment writing as a 'basic' instructor.

You can then go on a become a fire arms instructor, rock climbing instructor, mouton bike instructor, Duke of Edinburgh instructor - the list goes on!

The best part is that it only costs you your time - they cover the costs and you gain NVQ's (I know, it's an nvq but it is a bit of paper that says 'I can do this')

Just my thoughts / plan for the next year or two

Den

 

[tomongoose]

Just remember although you have access rights in Scotland cutting down branches etc could still be counted as criminal damage if you don't have the landowners permission

 

[galavanter]

It is time that the education authorities started to educate children on the benefits of Bushcraft skills to be aware of their surroundings and possible uses and how to respect the wilderness .The boy scouts have always done a pretty good job of it in the past ,but not everyone follows that route,Helping to get kids away from computer games and out into the real world might make them better people certainly ,healthier.I dont know how you could convince schools to take an interest in outdoor activities on a full time basis though .you would certainly need to be certificated insured and have clearance to teach kids. Apart from that have you ever thought about putting a story into the newspaper on a regular basis just telling everyone what the changes are in the wild what creatures youve seen what plants are popping up what the smells of the wild plants are like, the changing floor of the forest throughout the seasons ,might be worth a try .Good luck

 

[Toddy]

Lots of good ideas in this thread
I like the local paper one too; novel and appropriate and it might get you both known and a little bit of cash.

You could also approach the relatively local bushcraft or outdoor pursuit schools and offer slave labour for tuition, though that might be better if you had some more experience of countryside skills. The Btcv is a really good way to get a foot in those skills. They also give you an in on some of the more indepth training schemes, like the ones the Scottish Rural Network organises, and those are funded and won't cost you anything. Dry stone walling, hedge laying, that kind of thing.
http://www.ruralgateway.org.uk/en/node/3732

Best of luck with it,

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Maggot]

great idea go for it! dont get bogged down with the pitfalls, you'll talk yourself out of it. look upon it as sharing your newfound knowledge, invite people to pass on what you know, for free, this doesnt make you an expert. on a very informal basis like this you have no liability, i organise regular meets does this make me liable? no.

when and if you have the confidence and ability to hold peoples attention with your 'skill sharing' then consider going down the formal route, just my opinion

steve

er, yes it does.

If you are running any kind of event, training, informal walk in the woods, sharing of your knowledge (even for free) and someone in your 'group' or even worse a passing member of the public gets injured, they will be coming after you. As much as it's nice for everyone to say they accept the risk, when they can no longer work because they cut their own stupid hand off on one of the knives you were telling them about/teaching/showing how to handle, trust me, they will be after you.

Is there liability insurance insurance for The Moot? It's a pain, but to advise someone they won't be liable if it's 'informal' is just dead wrong.