An Excellent Resource for Bush Craft Knowledge

I love camping and doing things outdoors. This sis something I picked up as a kid. Boy Scouts played a big part in establishing this interest. i was in the Pine Burr Area Council. I started off with Cub Scouts, stayed through Webelos, and Received my Eagle Award in 1990 while in Troop 250 under Scoutmaster Jimmy Powell. My father was an Eagle scout and it is a safe bet that my son will be encouraged to give scouting a try. I already take him on camping trips to carry on the family tradition. I do this because one of my favorite memories is a camping trip my dad took me on around my 13th Birthday through the Smokey Mountains and Cherokee Indian reservation.

Last October (2015) i came across an online forum that is a gold mine of information.BushCraft USA. I was exercising my Google-FU and looking for places to do some more training and practice with Bush Craft skills. For those who do not know what that is, Bush Craft simply put is a term that means wilderness skills. It is more than survival training, it is about sustainability and comfortable living in a natural environment even over a long period. The true Bushcraft mindset involves having skills so that you do not need as much gear when you go out into the “bush” because you can make or “craft” everything you need and thus the term Bush Craft.

This is a forum dedicated to practically everything outdoors. I have met some of the most encouraging and selfless people on this site and am really enjoying being a part of the forum. Now this forum not only connects you with other people with similar interests in this area to learn from, but it actually provides free classes in Bush craft skills known as Bushclass. This is a self paced program that makes use of Videos and pictures online to teach different lessons. You watch the videos and then either take photos or make videos of yourself completing the lessons and post them in the appropriate place. Feedback from moderators and other forum readers let you know if you completed it successfully or not. The lead instructor is Terry Barney of Midwest School of Bushcraft, he goes by I.A. Woodsman on the forum. I.A.Woodsman has done an excellent job in the videos as well as the organization of this class. There are also patches you can get showing completion of the different levels. This spoke to the extrinsic motivation that kept me going as a Boy scout.

There are three levels to complete, Basic, Intermediate, and advanced. I have completed the Basic Level so far. Each level has certain required lessons to complete as well as elective lessons. Overnight outings are another requirement, which only makes sense since the purpose of having the skills and the best way to learn and improve is to get out into the woods.

The requirements for the Basic Certification is as follows:

REQUIRED FOR BASIC CERT

1.Feather Sticks and Shavings

2. 5 Man-made Tinders

3. The Twig Fire

4. Four Basic Bushcraft Knots

5. Improvise a Cooking Implement from Metal

6. Knife Sharpening

7. 2 Strand Twist with Man-Made Materials

8. Braiding Man-Made Materials

9.Set a Tarp Shelter

10. Make a Simple Snare

11. Tree Id and Uses

12. Cook Bannock with Fire

13.Make a Pot Hook

14. 5 Outings

I really enjoyed completing the lessons and learned some new skills. It is important to practice the skills in order to be able to do them when it really counts. These are skills that could prove life saving as well as just being a lot of fun. It also provided some fun interaction with my kids as I took them along on my outings and while doing some of the requirements. If you have an interest in Bush craft, camping, survival, homesteading, knives, or just like improving your knowledge of the outdoors, I highly recommend you check out the BushCraft USA forum and then start on the Bushclass lessons. The link to the general site is: bushcraftusa.com
The Bushclass lessons and information is located at :
http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/forumdisplay.php/132-BushClass-USA

I hope you check out this highly valuable resource. I am off to work on the next level, Intermediate.