Would like your opinions!

[Ibbo]

Hi all,
My name's Sam and I have been an avid bush-craft enthusiast for quite some time now. I found the bushcraftuk.com site purely by accident (I happened to be researching some equipment) and i'm very glad I have stumbled onto such an informative, knowledgeable and active community.

I am planning to make myself a small site dedicated to helping younger and more inexperienced people to get into bush-craft and would like to include small tutorial section that covers some of the basic aspects of the craft (i.e. camp craft/discipline, maybe fire lighting or identifying plants etc...) and would like to ask YOUR opinions on what YOU would perhaps include on a site aimed at beginners!

Should I focus on things like route planning, camp discipline, gear and tools etc... Or perhaps have some more intermediate tutorials on aspects such as fire lighting, eating in the wilderness and shelter building?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions people make!

-Sam

 

[TheViking]

I think fire building is popular with young kids. In addition to that I believe it's important that they learn safety rules and techniques with cutting tools before anything else. Foraging might be popular too.

 

[HuBBa]

A game of identifying edible plants and perhaps tracks of animals?

And of course all while discussing firecraft, camp building also point out we all prefere minimal impact on the nature. Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.

And as The Viking pointed out, knife & axe handling needs to be taught thoroughly. And preferably under adult supervision

 

[Ibbo]

Hey thanks Viking! Yes I thought firelighting would be popular (Although having taught younger people firelighting techniques before i'm a bit daunted by the idea that lots of little children could be running around weilding knives or axes, Hehe!) And your right, safety would be paramount when teaching people a potentially dangerous craft, ill definitly keep that in mind, thanks.

 

[Ibbo]

Just saw your post Hubba- Nice idea with the identification game, thanks!

 

[Tantalus]

just a suggestion

try showing them uses of plants that they already know like stinging nettles and dandelions ( do kids still tell the time with dandelions? ) and thistles

Tant

 

[Ibbo]

Thanks Tantalus, another nice idea!

 

[bambodoggy]

As well as the physical skills you are telling them about, please don't forget the....shall I say "ethos of bushcraft", the reason we do it, where it came from and just as importantly why we do it. I think this is as important a thing to pass on as is lighting a fire by bow. Once they have a firm grasp of the ethos and heritage they should able to work out a lot of the basic skills anyway just by playing at it under your guidance and hopefully the foundations will help to keep them interested in learning more and more new physical skills.

Hope that helps a little...

Bam.

 

[Biddlesby]

I agree.

Primarily, lots of stuff that they/we (which age group?) could do near/at home. So, like the stinging nettles idea of Tantalus.

 

[shanec]

I think maybe a section on the most used trees and how to identifi them and what there uses are? Maybe also a couple of tutorials one on making a spoon there is a couple around these forums and maybe another on making fibers from plants.

I'm sure a bowmaking tutorial would be pretty popular too i know alot of people like bow and arrows and im sure they would like to know how

Good luck on this site and post the url to it when its up please, would love to take a look

 

[Gail]

Can't go far wrong with making your own shelters, fires and cooking your food in the great outdoors ! How many of us have tried these ideas out with our buddies when we were whippersnappers ?

 

[troy]

If your out with the kids over night (especially the first night, when they won't sleep!) Another idea might be a moth light. When we tried this it kept them amused for ages, trying to identify them and with the apparatus we used, you got a real good look at them.

Of course, you have to make sure none will be afraid surrounded by them and bats, which did come out on the night we did it (wife vanished at this point and wasn't seen til morning).

Beware though - we had planned it to last only a couple of hours, but did not manage to wrap it up until the early hours of the morning.

 

[leon-1]

I think that the guys have covered a lot of it.

Keep it simple. Show basic techniques that are achievable (people are put off when they can't do things).

Siting of your camp and shelter.
Tree types and the uses of thier woods.
Basic shelter construction using a tarp and making Debri shelters.
Firecraft, how to lay a fire properly, types of fire which are sustainable that don't have you running around all night feeding them so that you are tired the next day.
The guys already mentioned keep to the plants that they know and teach the uses of them, steering clear of any that are easily confused with others.
Identifying animal tracks would be good as well.

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

As an aside, when you share this stuff treat the kids as adults. If a teacher talked down to me, or made learning a chore instead of a joy that class became agony. I'm talking "we don't need no education" Pink Floyd, look at that lucky bird out the window flying free torment. Unless you get some poor kid who thinks the world is this deux ex machina we chatter on or a gameboy is the real world, you have a sold audience. Just don't alienate them

 

[RobertsonPau]

Sorry to take so long in asking this, are you meaning a website, or a real place to teach at?

Paul

 

[Ibbo]

Well, my ambition would eventually be to become an instructor teaching people in person, but for now i would like to be able to share some basic skills on the web via a small webpage that might try and help get people off their arses and outdoors!

Thanks for all the replies everyone, this has really helped me alot! Some great suggestions have been made so far (but keep them coming if you have more) so again, my thanks!