This past September we designed a Fire-Building class for The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois.  The workshop was promoted as one that would instruct students on how to build a “surefire” fire!  Topics covered included: fire as a gift, safety concerns, tinder, wood selection, and What size is right? With this information in hand the class broke out into pairs; each two-student team constructing the skeleton of a tipi fire–one of the most effective fire models.

There followed a demonstration of fire-starting techniques with both a primitive bowdrill and a flint & steel.  Every student was then given the opportunity to light a tinder bundle with a flint & steel, fire-starting device.

The Arboretum was kind enough to end the event by providing ingredients for s’mores.

Apparently this specifically-designed workshop was successful.  The students reported that they were highly satisfied with the content and value of the program.  When asked the following questions, the students’ post-class evaluation forms provided the following comments:

What did you like best about this program?

• Practical information
• Hands on teaching
• The instructor
• The pace
• Instructor’s warm personality & amazing knowledge
• Outstanding balance of instruction & hands on practice

How can we improve this program?

• Nothing! It’s Great!
• It’s amazing! Thank you!
• It’s great the way it is!

It seems that the kindergarten class at Elmhurst Academy in Elmhurst, Illinois became fascinated with the practical aspects of the show “Survivor”, asking their teacher:  How do you survive in a storm?  How do you make shelter?  Can trees help you survive?  Is there a way to make something cold in warm places?  And more.

So their teacher, Heather Escobedo, reached out to us and asked that we try to give her class some guidance.  With only a 60-minute window we couldn’t cover all that the inquisitive minds had thrown at us. So Ron limited his presentation to shelter and the benefit of trees.   And that proved to be more than enough.

We learned the Rule of 3’s and talked about insulation, squirrel nests, getting really cold (hypothermia), and shelters.  The class was involved, asking good questions, giving good answers, and sometimes just volunteering “information” as 5 and 6 year-olds often do.

By far the most exciting part of the program was the outdoor construction of the skeleton of a debris hut.  Enthusiasm was high and the finished product looked great.

The morning finished up with some show-and-tell of other beneficial items that trees can provide–things like spoons, cordage, shafts for arrows, and parts for a primitive bow drill.

The class had found answers to some of their questions and appeared to have had a good time doing it.  Ron certainly did,

We didn’t plan it that way, but the Wilderness Skills Workshop we hosted this past weekend turned out to be filled with the male members of three separate families–three dads and four sons.  The enrollment was lower than usual and normally the workshop would have been canceled.  But we instructors felt an “inner tug” to pass on our knowledge to these anxious family groups.  So the four of us forged ahead with seven students .  And Boy! are we glad we did.

From our point of view is was a rewarding and worthwhile three days.  Even the rain that forced us indoors for the better part of Saturday didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the students.  They worked hard, learned a lot, laughed loudly, and ate well.  It was rewarding for us to see the boys bond with their dads and the families bond with each other, all in the process of learning earth skills.

Instruction in animal tracking, making cordage from plant material, shelter-building, walking like a fox, fire by friction, and more kept both students and instructors engaged throughout the day.  Each evening campfire was ignited using a primitive bowdrill–on Friday by an instructor, on Saturday by one of the students using his newly made tools.  It was then that the instructors relaxed and shared stories while the students busied themselves making bowls and spoons using nothing more than coals from the fire and sharp stones.  Saturday’s fire included the added attraction of a special treat of s’mores.

Before we departed on Sunday afternoon it was obvious from the smiles seen and the comments made that students and instructors alike were all glad they had come!

For two hours on a sunny Wednesday morning in October eleven second-graders from The Children’s School in Berwyn, Illinois whetted their appetites for animal tracking.

They learned that first steps in becoming a tracker required the perfection of two different skills: Awareness, in order to first find the tracks; then Clear Print Identification, in order to know who made the track.

The Awareness portion included instruction in splatter vision, a technique that enhances one’s ability to see more in a natural setting.   This newly learned seeing skill was tested with viewings first of the artwork of Bev Doolittle and then of photos of camouflaged critters in the Natural World.  Fox-walking was next on the agenda, and under Ron’s guidance the students (and teachers) explored the technique of walking more quietly.

The Clear Print Identification portion of the class made use of a coincidental relation between the name of their school and the identifying traits of a footprint.  Referencing the initials of the school–TCS–the children were urged to remember Toes, Claws, and Shape as important identifying features of a clear footprint.  With that foundation they then learned to identify members of the deer, cat, dog, weasel, and rodent families.  Bear, raccoon, and opossum were placed in a separate “brother” category because they each bore some human-like characteristics.

The morning ended with the class fox-walking to the location of a subtle game trail in the forest preserve.  Though there was a covering of leaves, the students, using splatter vision, were eventually able to recognize the outline of the hidden trail.

As a final test students were asked to carefully remove the overlying plant material from the trail and to look for footprints beneath.  If something were found, the student would mark it with a stake flag for Ron’s review.  It was a measure of the success of the class that Ron was able to confirm that most of these apprentice trackers had indeed found and correctly identified tracks underneath the leaves.

After a full morning of instruction, the children were happy to sit down to lunch and then have a chance to run and play.

For the fifth consecutive year, Benedictine University hosted Nature Education Programs’ What 2 Know B4 You Go! wilderness preparedness workshop on its campus in Lisle, Illinois.

The audience was varied, consisting of adults, college students, and the girls and leaders of Girl Scout Troop 51507.  The Scouts were particularly involved, enthusiastically asking and answering questions and sharing their personal experiences.

Using six true-life stories, Ron was able to emphasize six critical lessons applicable to any type of outdoor endeavor, whether it be a wilderness canoe or backpacking trip or driving to Indianapolis for a high school reunion.  In addition to the six main lessons, a bunch of practical, potentially life-saving tips were dispensed: How long can you go without food or water in a survival situation?  At what temperature is hypothermia most likely to occur?  How could a squirrel’s nest help to save your life?  And more….

It was obvious that the audience enjoyed and benefited from the experience.

Thanks to Benedictine University and its Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum for offering this program to the community.

Animal tracking.  Shelter building.  Safe sources of drinking water.  Fire made with a primitive bowdrill.  These were but some of the skills learned at our Ancient Skills Workshop this past weekend in southern Wisconsin.

The students were indeed an eclectic group.  Ages ranged from 8 years old to 72 years young.  Outdoor experience levels ran the gamut from “pretty much” to “some” to “none at all”.  But the students mixed well, supported each other, and had a great time.

The rain came and went but dampened no spirits.  We simply varied the schedule and the topics to follow the rhythms of the Natural World.  When we couldn’t work outdoors, we switched to indoor activities focusing on preparedness and awareness.  “Symbols on the Floor” was a big hit, as were David’s presentation on animal skulls–ranging from grizzly (tagged from Alaska) to muskrat–and Ellen’s 3D, stare-e-o  exercises.  Our What 2 Know B4 You Go!  presentation taught valuable lessons while the rain fell outside.

Sunday’s sun found the students continuing work on their bowdrills, making primitive bowls and spoons, and learning where to find safe drinking water.  Perhaps the highlight of the weekend was the non-competitive event wherein student-teams competed [they couldn’t help themselves] to see who could bag the most game with throwing sticks.  [Please note: No animals were injured during this event, as target-logs were substituted for any small mammals that would have been suitable for dinner!]

We instructors were thrilled with the enthusiasm, flexibility, and camaraderie of the students and felt that all went home with valuable lessons learned.

The weather was cold and rainy, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the 17 students who turned out to learn about Clear Print Identification and Gaits at a private event in Aurora, Illinois.

Before class began the students had a chance to view all manner of animal sign and aids that were on display indoors.  From feathers & fur to field guides & footprints–plaster casts of fox and coyote, wolf and bear.  There was even a tracking box (a 2′ x 5′ sand box) set up outdoors that captured the ramblings of a raccoon who had wandered through the night before.

The students learned how to identify a clear print by counting toes, looking for claw marks, and categorizing the overall shape of the track.  Everyone was encouraged to classify the shape according to her or his own definition; the hope being that by personally naming the shape each student would then remember her/his personal descriptor for each family of animals.  The obvious “heart-shaped”, “round”, and “oval” descriptions were expanded with creative suggestions such as “ice cream cone”, “sunrise”, and more.

The second half of the class focused on gaits, the way in which animals walk.  With a perfect demonstration by young Cooper the class was able to visualize the diagonal gait of the “Quiet Walkers”.  They move opposite front and hind feet at the same time, i.e. left front & right hind, then right front & left hind.  Becca was then called upon to show us that humans walk in the same way, pretending of course that her arms were her front legs.  We next studied the “Tough Guys of the Woods”, those animals who face few if any threats from other critters.  Mike helped Ron demonstrate how humans at times use the tough-guy gait to impose a feeling of threat or dread in an opponent.

The class then learned that most of the weasel family moves with a bounding gait, similar to the motion of a toy “Slinky” and that the “Ready-to-Run” animals move in a way that reflects the fact that they are prey to all manner of predators.

Before they left, the class asked Ron to relate his story of  “The Skunk in the Trunk”, which brought not only laughter, but also a realization of the tenacity of the odor of  the animal.

The rain outside had continued throughout the morning.  But as they left with new-found knowledge, most of the students took the opportunity to see what effect the weather was having on the raccoon tracks in the sand box.  Whether they realized it or not, they were already advancing their tracking skills.  They had learned the  ABCs of print identification.  By studying the tracks in the wet sand they were now trying to read the story.

Approximately 30 Scouts and 8-10 adult leaders enjoyed a campout this past weekend on the grounds of the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation in Dundee, Illinois.

The day could not have been better for our Gifts of the Earth–Shelter, Water, Fire workshop.  The weather was perfect.  And this group of Scouts was enthusiastic, interested, and knowledgeable, repeatedly throwing out correct answers to questions about hypothermia, the Rule of 3’s, safe sources of drinking water and more.

Among the highlights of the day were the building of the skeleton of a debris hut and the success of five selected Scouts (one from each patrol) starting fires with a flint & steel.

It appeared that the boys were pleased with the presentation.  And a number of the scout leaders lingered to ask questions about other programs we offer.

It was a perfect fall day for the Round Lake Area Public Library to host a  workshop dedicated to three of the most basic survival skills–shelter, fire, and water.

To start the afternoon, the audience was given a hypothetical survival situation which replicated the weather conditions of this October day, but at a time thousands of years earlier.  In that wilderness setting the students hypothetically found themselves swimming ashore from an overturned canoe with all of their gear lost downstream.  They were then asked.  What will you do?  When will you do it?  And why will you do it in that order?

The answers set the backdrop for the 90-minute session that included building the skeleton of a primitive shelter, watching a demonstration of fire made with a primitive bowdrill, and a discussion of the safe and not so safe sources of drinking water.

Apparently the majority of the guests were pleased as is evidenced by some of the comments on their evaluation forms:

Content:

• Good basic skills.  Informative & entertaining.
• Fantastic class.  Great info.  Bring Mr. Nosek back for more classes.
• Great! Very Informative!  Would attend more like it!
• I learned a lot that I didn’t know and the content gave me a lot to think about.

Instructor:

• …very interesting.
• …very knowledgeable & kept the audience engaged.
• Friendly & easy to listen to.  Knows the material and gave plenty of examples from personal experience.
• Very knowledgeable on [the] subject.

For the fourth consecutive year, Benedictine University hosted Nature Education Programs’ What 2 Know B4 You Go! wilderness preparedness workshop on its campus in Lisle, Illinois.

The class is designed to give outdoor enthusiasts, both experienced and inexperienced, some very practical knowledge on how to prepare for an outdoor adventure and what to do if things don’t go as planned.

The students heard six true-life stories.  Each had a lesson that would apply equally to travels in the wilds of Canada or to an out-of-state trip to Grandma’s for Thanksgiving.  Rules that apply to getting lost backpacking in Montana are no different than rules that apply to getting lost in your local mega-mall.

When would you stuff your clothes like a scarecrow?  What is the Rule of Threes?  Why is cotton a poor clothing choice in certain conditions?  Can I drink water from a mountain lake?  These are just some of the questions that were answered during the 3-hour workshop, while Iris filled the white board with a list of potentially life-saving hints.

A mid-afternoon break saw the participants on the university lawn collecting (pre-planted) materials that they used to build the skeleton of a primitive shelter.  In spite of some serious wind Ron was able to demonstrate the technique of getting fire by use of a primitive bowdrill.  While Simon convinced the audience that using a flint and steel firestarter was a bit easier and more reliable.  Safe sources of drinking water was the next topic of discussion, with one young person helping to demonstrate how to benefit from the phenomenon of transpiration; the natural discharge of water from your local oak tree.

As always, the audience received suggestions for the six items that Nature Education Programs considers critical to a personal survival kit.  And Iris and Simon passed out two of those items free to every student.

The afternoon ended with Ron telling a seventh story; this one about Rodney, the hunter who got caught in a South Dakota blizzard.  Unlike the other stories, this one ended without any issue because Rodney was properly prepared and knew what to do.

Judging by the post-class comments and questions, all who attended found the workshop very worthwhile.