Posted by Tony Deis on Sep 09, 2009 in Bushcraft & Survival
Very rarely do we visit with masters of any craft in our world. They may be famous, oft quoted in magazines, featured in documentaries or authors of categorical tomes. Yet they're no longer our neighbors, let alone our uncles and aunties, our mothers and fathers.
Our culture often has people moving from place to place, job to job, learning hobbies or ways to earn cash. While self-branded artists are phenomenal they suggest a form of more personal expression. Masters are those who labor to animate, bring alive their craft and materials into new forms of usefulness and grace for the full village (usefulness and grace are not mutually exclusive). True mastery requires more then simply a professional accord, more then simply diligence and patience, it requires great love.
How is what I offer a service? How does it protect and care for my family? How does it inspire? How does it feed the people around me?
To often we see primitive skills as the cartoon of what our culture expects survival to be. When true bushcraft is synonymous with fine folk craft. Natural craft is sinuous, powerful and highly functional. This bow pierces food for the village as its an eloquent extension of my arm. This boat hunts while its lines express my love and passion for the fish that feeds my family. This basket is fashioned of resiliency and color, reminding all of us of the bounty it carries home.
It is time to take back mastery for our village where eloquence, sweat and blood become the vital ingredients for artful livelihood that enriches us all.
Rebuilding the village with fine craft...
Winter's Nature of the Village: Umiak Building and Folk Craft skill share
January 4-8, 2010 Join us at the TrackersHQ for 5-days of boat building and sharing skills. In the heart of Sellwood and honoring Trackers urban DIY roots, this is a unique and affordable skillshare you can bus, bike or walk to. Every day we come together lending a hand to rebuild a grand sailing vessel that seems to arise from the mysts of an ancient past. And in Open Space style, we share many primitive and fine folk craft. From fire by friction to leather crafting and sewing, from tracking to winter tinctures and teas, this is the place where community comes together, bringing to life to a new vessel of the sea and teaching one another the skills vital rebuilding the village. $20 per day or $80 for the all 5 days. Learn more here
Also you can attend...
4-Seasons Permaculture Design Certification Immerse yourself in the study for Permaculture: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall
Winter Term: The Water Village for the full or part-time immersion program. Learn all the above skills in depth and in sync with the seasons...
Full-time Immersion 3-days a week plus several overnights (Winter's Nature of the Village included)
Part-time immersion 1-weekend overnight a month for 3-months
Plus...
Spring Term: The Earth Village Permculture, wild plants and tracking
Summer Term: The Fire Village Expeditions in the unknown and ancient arts and skills
Posted by Tony Deis on Sep 02, 2009 in Program Info
I thought folks might find it fun to see our immersion calendar for the fall term (below). If you've been on the fence, its not to late to join us;)
To learn more about the fall term, visit The Wind Village: Wilderness Survival an Bushcraft
To learn more about gong the entire year visit 1 year of Wilderness Immersion
Or you can start out in winter term and go into Fall 2010. Visit The Water Village: Boat Building and Fine Folk Craft
and without further adieu...
Winter Village: TrackersTEAMS Fall 2009 Term Schedule
Locations...
TrackersHQ is directly across from a 140 acre wildlife refuge only 8 minutes from downtown Portland. It features a 2900 sq ft studio space with 2 other adjunct classrooms. We also have access to a high end wood working shop and metal welding and forging facilities. It is easily accessible by bike or bus. Most excursions leave from TrackersHQ in our vans, so you don't have to own a car, you can live by pedal and two wheels.
Trackers Homestead is our cabin on a private 400 acre wildlife refuge at the edge of the Mt Hood National forest. It features a pioneer orchard with 130 year old fruit trees and 2.8 acres of land dedicated to the design and restoration aspect of this course. While in class and during breaks, you find yourself on the edge of seemingly untouched wild lands with the chance to wander one of the most beautiful and epic landscapes on Earth.
Nature of the Village Overnight at the Trackers Homestead
September 6, 2009 Orientation to TrackersTEAMS Immersion
Morning Leave and camp setup
Morning Working Agreements and Methods
Afternoon Infrastructure: Locations and Gear
Evening Independent Study and Journal Methods Overview
September 7-9, 2009 Open Space Village Skills
September 10, 2009
Morning Tracking and Awareness primer day for independent study program
Afternoon Improv and theater training with the best in show biz
Evening Basketry Basic and Bark Containers (maybe)
September 11, 2009 Trillium Lake Fishing Expedition
September 12, 2009 Trip home, TrackersHQ Introduction and closing agreements
Regular Course Days
September 15, 2009
8:30am-9:00am Yoga with Melissa
9:00am-12:30pm Fire by friction: Basic to intermediate
-bow drill
-hand drill
-fire building
1:00pm-4:00pm Independent study overview and sit spots
-mapping
4:00pm-4:30pm Debrief
September 16, 2009
8:30am-2:30pm Kayak, Canoe and Umiak fishing trip to North Fork Reservoir on the Clackamas
2:30pm-4:00pm Planning the harvest pantry
-what foods for fall
-what types of preservation
-best place in TrackersHQ
-sharing practices
4:00pm-4:30pm Homework questions and check in
5:30pm-7:30pm Fishing, Wild and Local Foods Potluck
September 17, 2009
8:30am-4:30pm Shelter Building Primer at Hopkins
-location that means diverse and sustainable relationships
-shelter types: long term and short term
-preliminary construction
-collect vine maple for branch bows
-begin branch bows
Shelter and Foraging Survival Overnight at Hopkins
September 22, 2009
Morning-Afternoon Shelter Building
Evening Dinner harvest
Evening Bow drill fire (if fires are allowed on site)
Evening Dinner cooking by campfire (if fires are allowed on site)
Evening "Tracking for the Hunt" primer
-collection for dinner
-plotting your photo "hunting zone" by topo, scouting it in the dark
-definitely begin branch bows
September 23, 2009
Morning Calisthenics and long run/hike conditioning
Morning Scouting/tracking for the photo hunt
-bring camera
Morning Shelter Improvements
Afternoon Medicinal and Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest Primer
Late Afternoon/Dusk Photo Hunting Sit Spot
-bring camera
Evening Team Bow drill fire made directly from forest materials (if fires are allowed on site)
Evening Dinner cooking by campfire (if fires are allowed on site)
Late Evening Sing for you supper
September 24, 2009
Early Early Morning Photo Hunting Sit Spot
-bring camera
Morning Calisthenics
Morning Tracking Lens Journal
Afternoon Branch bow check
Afternoon Appreciations
Afternoon Journey home
Regular Course Days
September 29, 2009
8:30am-9:00am Yoga with Melissa
9:00am-12:30pm Urban Tree Harvest
-Apples
-Acorns
-Chestnuts
1:00pm-3:00pm Harvest Processing
-Apple cider pressing and fermenting methods
-Acorn leaching
-Chestnut flour
3:00pm-4:00pm Seminar: All Hallows Eve Reading
-reading assignment given prior
4:00pm-4:30pm All Hallows Eve Scout Pit Party Planning
-press release written for webpage and mailing lists
September 30, 2009
8:30am-1:30pm Kayak, Canoe and Umiak fishing trip to Hagg Lake
1:30am-4:00pm Visit Kookoolan Farm and take a tour http://www.kookoolanfarms.com/
October 1, 2009
8:30am-9:00am Trackers Meditation: Conversations with Plants
9am-12:30pm Begin pimp bow-making with Andrew Pinger
-Branch bows
-Bow types
-theory
-various designs
-draw out your bow
-meet your stave
1pm-4pm Plant Tracking: Individual Plant Analysis, plus Teas and Decoctions
4:00pm-4:30pm Journal of the week
October 6, 2009
8:30am-9:00am Yoga with Melissa
9am-12:30pm Fall Urban Tree Harvest Continues
1pm-4:00pm Fermentation basics and intermediate: kraut and kimchi
4:00pm-4:30pm Debrief
October 7, 2009
8:30am-9am Trackers Meditation: Stealth and Shadow
9am-12:00pm Stealth Adventure Awesome
-Team logistics
1pm--4:00pm Basic Leatherworking: Begin a quiver
4:00pm-4:30pm Homework questions and check in
October 8, 2009
8:30am-9:00am Calisthenics
9am-10:30am Continue pimp bow-making with Andrew Pinger
-Intro to stave
-Begin tillering
10:30am-12:30pm Basic Flintknapping and Stone Tools with Andrew Pinger
1:00pm-3:00pm Tracking with Tony or Gabe: Mapping Oaks Bottom
3:00pm-4:00pm Wildlife Illustration and Journaling
4:00pm-4:30pm Journal of the week
Intermediate Shelter and Fire Overnight at Hopkins
October 13, 2009
Morning Shelter Switch and Improvement (now you stay in someone else's shelter)
Afternoon Fire Review
-Fire by friction: Team Bow Drill with "no-knife"'
-Various "campfire" methods
Afternoon "Tracking for the Hunt" field assessment
-observe new animal movements with focus on the rut
Evening Dinner cooking by campfire
Evening Sing for your supper
Evening "Tracking for the Hunt" dialogue
-tell the story of new animal movements
-plot new "hunting zones" by illustrated story/songline map
October 14, 2009
Early Early Morning Photo Hunting Sit Spot
-bring camera
Morning Photo hunt transitions to free for all human-hunt with foam arrows and branch bows
Morning Shelter Improvements
Afternoon Instrument making
Late Afternoon Photo Hunting Sit Spot (optional)
Evening Shelter journal
Evening Dinner cooking by campfire
Evening Theater Improv of the epic story of morning stealth hunt
October 15, 2009
Early Early Morning Photo Hunting Sit Spot II
-bring camera
Morning Find a deer
Morning Calisthenics
Afternoon Shelter Take Down
Afternoon Appreciations
Afternoon Journey home
Regular Course Days
October 20, 2009
8:30am-9:00am Yoga with Melissa
9:00am-12:00pm Fabric finding for re-purposed clothing
12:30pm-1:30pm Simple Patterning
1:30pm-4:00pm Basic Sewing Skills: Hand and machine
4:00pm-4:30pm Debrief
October 21, 2009 Long day
8:30am-9am Trackers Meditation: Simulflow
9am-12:30pm Canning and other preserving methods
1pm-3pm Glove making begins
3pm-4pm All Hallows Eve Costume and Mask Planning
4:00pm-4:30pm All Hallows Eve Scout Pit Party Planning
4:30pm-5:00pm Homework questions and check in
October 22, 2009
8:30am-9:00am Calisthenics and uphill workouts
9am-12:30pm One page business or life plan with Mike Rasmussen
1:00pm-4:00pm Tincture making: Red Cedar and Oregon Grape
4:00-4:30pm Journal of the week
October 27, 2009
8:30am-9:00am Yoga with Melissa
9am-10:30am Simple plant dyes
10:30am-12:30pm Sewing project check-in
-Gloves
-Costume and mask making
1pm-4:00pm Pickling and fermentation preservation
4:00pm-4:30pm Debrief
October 28, 2009
8:30am-9am Trackers Meditation: Prime projection
9am-1pm Kayak, umiak and canoe morning on the river
1:30pm-3:30pm Tracking with Jason: Blood Trails
3:30pm-4:00pm Homework questions and check in
4:00pm-4:30pm All Hallows Eve Scout Pit Party Planning Final Check-in
October 29, 2009
8:30am-9:00am Calisthenics
9am-11am Continue pimp bow-making with Andrew Pinger
-Bow string, backing, bending and silencers, plus other fancy stuff for you bow
11am-12:30pm Intermediate Flintknapping with Andrew Pinger
1:00pm-4:00pm Plant Tracking: Foraging Strategies
4:00-4:30pm Journal of the week
October 31, 2009
Evening All Hallows Eve Costume Party Extravaganza
November 3, 2009
8:30am-9:30am Yoga with Melissa
9:30am-11:30am Seminar: Culture and history of animal relationships with hunter-gather and horticultural communities
-reading assignment given prior
-honoring and the animal
11:30am-12:30pm Dairy ferments: Methods and practice
1pm-4:00pm Dairy ferments: Make goat cheese and yoghurt
4:00pm-4:30pm Debrief
November 4, 2009
8:30am-9:30am Travel to Trackers Homestead
9:30am-3pm Large animal butchering at Trackers Homestead
Option B 9:30pm-3:00pm Bear Tracking with Tony or Gabe at Trackers Homestead
3:00pm-3:30pm Appreciations
3:30pm-4:30pm Travel Home
November 5, 2009
8:30am-9:30am Travel to Trackers Homestead
9:30pm-3:30pm Traditional Meat Preservation at Trackers Homestead
-Corning
-Sausage
-Drying
-Pemican
-Rendering
-AND Hide racking and prep
Option B 9:30pm-3:30pm Red Fox Tracking with Tony or Gabe at Trackers Homestead
3:30pm-7pm Dinner prep and wildfoods potluck feast and celebration (long day, goes until 7pm, students welcome to overnight at Cabin)
November 10, 2009
8:30am-12:30am Smoking and curing meats continued at the Trackers Homestead
-Basic smoke house
1:00pm-4pm Nutria Trapping on Urban Farms: Lay the bike trapline by bike
4:00pm-4:30pm Debrief
November 11, 2009
8:30am-9am Trackers Meditation: Flow
9am-12pm Nutria Trapping on Urban Farms: Harvest the Nutria by bike
12:30pm-4pm Nutria Trapping on Urban Farms: Skin and butcher
4:00pm-4:30pm Homework questions and check in
5:30pm-7:30pm Nutria Feast/Wild Local Foods Potluck
November 12, 2009
8:30am-9:00am Calisthenics
9am-10:30am Sinew Bow String with Andrew Pinger
10:30am-12:30pm Bone Tools with Andrew Pinger
1pm-4:00pm Basketry Basic and Bark Containers
4:00-4:30pm Bow check-in (to be finished by next week)
Tracking and Nature Awareness Overnight at the Trackers Homestead
November 17, 2009
Morning Tracking Bear Primer
Afternoon Smoking and curing meats continued
Evening Overnight sit on Bear Trail Begins
November 18, 2009
Morning Solo Bear Tracking
Morning Bear Mapping
Afternoon Fire in all conditions
Afternoon Stealth teams into dark with finished bows and foam arrows
Afternoon Feast prep
Evening Team bow drills with stone tools by dark
Evening Feast of Giving Thanks: Smoked or steam pit turkey
Evening Theater Improv of the epic story of Bear and Turkey
November 19, 2009
Morning Bear Spots
Morning Yoga with Melissa
Afternoon Homestead Camp Clean Up
Afternoon Appreciations
Afternoon Journey home
Regular Course Days
November 24, 2009
8:30am-9:00am Yoga with Melissa
9am-12:30pm Business Planning check-in with Mike Rasmussen or Tony
1pm-3:30pm Advanced Fermentation
3:30pm-4:30pm "To Accomplish" list to welcome in the Water Village
-Gifts to the Water Village (Winter Term)
-Projects for year long students
-Skills to revisit for "Winter Welcome" overnight
November 25, 2009
8:30am-4:30pm Invisilbity: The Hall of Mirrors
-Trackers Mediation
-Day long bird language stealth game
November 26, 2009
8:30am-9:00am Calisthenics
9am-12:30pm Root Cellaring
1:00pm-4pm Advanced primitive cooking containers
4:00-4:30pm Journal of the week
Winter Welcome Overnight at the Trackers Homestead
December 1-3, 2009
Day 1 Where have we journeyed?
-Retrospective
-Theater Improv
-Show and tell
Day 2 Where are we now and where are going?
-Open Space
-Stories of the person
-Stories of the Trackers Tribe
-More skills
Final Evening Graduation of the Wind Village with gifts to the Water Village
Final Day Clean the homestead and journey home
Posted by Tony Deis on Aug 11, 2009 in Team & Collaborative Skills
One of my favorite mottos is, "All models are wrong and some are useful". In my younger years as a student of wilderness schools, that attitude made me a bear for any teacher who asserted the infallibility of their learning model.
Though the belief that trite philosophical hoops can fix all our woes permeates our culture, I take special umbrage when it comes to personal connection to the natural world. As useful models become indiscriminate dogma, they overwhelm the interesting discourse that actually leads to real learning.
I must admit to delicious joy in my rants of how even benign leaders can consolidate power and unnecessarily complicate village relationships that are as old and innate as being human. In my own days as a survival school student I had to many sincere questions smacked down by self appointed gurus. Ironically, I'm glad they did. In the resulting disillusionment no one was ever able to hit me with their magic bullet.
In my opinion, genius learning is easy and any overly complex methodology simply holds it back. There's no replacement for living epic experiences with your land and village through the seasons. This may be another wrong model but its certainly a useful "way" for me.
Still, do me a favor. Don't discount those "authorities" I seem to deride. Do place great value in their brilliant contributions. Being wary enough to hold your own opinions doesn't mean these experienced individuals don't have something great to offer. I know for an absolute fact many of them deserve our respect and intermittent attention. When the revered nature icon reveals his or her sure fire system for rebuilding your village, it pays to listen; just hold onto to your own creative genius on those sloppy days the Kool-Aid gets passed around.
Its even harder for these charismatic savants to transition to a real village in lieu of a flock. The nature of their brilliance stems from their conviction in it. Inundated with yes-men and vilifying detractors (such as me), they need rescuing from the bull of "one right way" just as much as we all do. But once we carry each other through such rites of passage, we get to remind one another that the individual philosophies we offer may be wrong but they're still very useful as we make our lives in the new village.
TEAMS Calendar...
New! Part-time immersion program 1 weekend a month. Take terms together or on their own.
Fall Term Outdoor & Wilderness Survival Weekends
Winter Term Hand Craft & Boat Building Weekends
Spring Term Permaculture & Medicinal Plants
Summer Term Wilderness Survival & Tracking
Full-time immersion program 3 days a week. Take terms together or on their own.
Fall Term Wilderness Survival & Bushcraft
Winter Term Boat Building & Folk Craft
Spring Edible Plants and Homesteading
Summer Term Expedition Survival Tour
4 seasons Permaculture Design Certification 1 day a week from January to October
Request for advice...
I might write a book! I would love feedback about what people come to this blog or read this newsletter for as I want it reflect to community I serve. Any thoughts (reply to this newsletter)?
Posted by Tony Deis on Aug 04, 2009 in Tracking
What is nature immersion? Is it learning a lot of new skills, becoming good at a craft? Is it becoming a better person? More aware? To me, all that's secondary. What's more important is the relationship between one another, the land and the village. That's it.
Much of contemporary wilderness skills training is about "becoming better", "healed" or more "bad ass". Its treated like a martial art, where there's white or black belts. In reality there should be no system of levels, or graduation with tenure. That way of thinking is for failing schools that only perpetuate the fear that there's something wrong with or missing from us to begin with. Trackers is not here do that. Instead our mission is to sew you and all of us further and further into family and the land. We need people that feel support with their bones. We need people who's pantry is stocked with foods borne from harvesting by Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. We need village's that live and breathe by the day length and individuals that more then simply journal when the salal berries are in harvest. Instead, they can feel it coming!
We still have our 9 month program, in fact we added an option for one full year that includes a grand summer series of expeditions and rites of passage. We also made each season stand on its own so that people can also take courses in 3 month increments. The goal is to increase program access to individuals with families and other community commitments. It's even less about getting "schooled"; starting just in September and going till June by the clunky, conventional school year. Now its about doing "what's in season". And that's infinitely more hip then relying on a monochromatic curriculum. Nature's cycle's are the only fashion I give a rats rear about:) So without further adieu, we introduce the Wind Village, the Water Village, the Earth Village and the Fire Village. They turn with the harvest of Fall, the darkness of Winter, the new growth of Spring and Summer's rites of passage.
Remember, Trackers is here to rethink learning. We're don't exist to make anyone "better". We already know we're all human. All we can do is to rediscover empathy, holding that eloquent, human conversation with the life, the Earth and how the Sun rises each day.
Join the New Village of TrackerTEAMS, now in 3 month terms...
Fall Term The Wind Village: Wilderness Survival & Bushcraft
Winter Term The Water Village: Boat Building and Traditional Folk Craft
Spring Term The Earth Village: Edible Plants with Permaculture and Homesteading
And introducing The Fire Village, Summer Term 2010...
Join a collaborative team of naturalists, expats, artists, sailors, trackers & primitive skills experts on the expedition of a lifetime. Your elite team embarks from the Pacific Northwest; one of the most beautiful regions in the world. Learn about wild edible and medicinal plants, sailing and kayaking, primitive shelter, travel by the edge, stealth and invisibility while making friends for life. From dunes to ocean, mountains to rivers, urban wilds and rural permaculture farms; learn the skills of survival, shake of your domestication and walk away changed.
Class takes place every day with rest times during expeditions and intensives. Teaching hours are varied depending on the expedition and intensive. While all camping, lodging and food is provided for the entire 10 weeks. A 1 week Nature of the Village both begins and ends the term (June 13-19, August 15-21) and nearly each month we include a 3 day overnight at the Trackers Homestead or other location.
Nature of the Village Week Longs...
• June 13-19, 2010 and August 15-21, 2010
Expeditions across Cascadia...
• 4 day kayak journey
• 3 day sailing expedition
• 4 day stealth and adventure game
• 1 week ultra-lite and bushcraft backpacking trip with 2 day huckleberry camp
Intensive learning...
• 1 week primitive skills and bushcraft intensive
• 1 week tracking and nature awareness intensive
• 1 week stealth, hand to hand combat training with weapons and empty hand
• 5 day art and theater intensive
• 1 day bush and backcountry vehicle travel, getting cars out of mud, pits, damage and more
• 1 day international travel workshop. How to travel on a low profile
Rites of passage...
• 1 and 4 day solo sits
• Urban nomad 3 day overnight
Posted by Tony Deis on Jul 26, 2009 in Program Info
The following is a preview for the Earth Village (Spring Session). Its rounds out the story for our tandem 9 month program.
In spring we immerse ourselves in the world of plants and the realm of the birds. Everything is exploding with life. Early in the term you take your Permaculture Design Certification and in hands on projects throughout the 3-months we remake and reshape the Trackers Homestead (our cabin that sits on 3 acres of cultivated land and 400 acres of willife refuge). Harvest and preservation of spring milk and eggs folds into artisan cheesemaking, pickling and fermentation. Still, the core of the program is the new growth of spring plants. You practice nutrition through wildcrafted foods, making medicine through tinctures and gardening for sustenance crops. We even cover herbals for the farm and stable, working with livestock on the Trackers Homestead. As with all Trackers courses, the focus is on hunter-gatherer or horticultural relationships to the land, so while we cover many homesteading relationships it all dovetails into tending to "wild" garden and lands. Places of harvest that are intricately woven into a living and diverse ecology.
Our naturalist studies also take us to the treetops. We cover intensive relationships with birds and their viewpoint of the forest. Tracking reveals on a entirely new role as we learn the Language of the Birds. This is the ability to tell the movement of a sneaking deer or cougar simply from the sequence of the avian calls above. Of course we address what some may see as classic track and sign skills, along with ecological relationships.
As with all of our 3 month immersion terms our collaborative and natural learning model makes all experience levels welcome and useful. Our class discourse does not follow a coversation linear path but is instead an intricate web of eloquent conversation, allowing diverse interests and skill sets of individuals to enrich the learning community.
The fitness component for this term focuses on nutrition, strength and flexibility. Yoga is at the core of the program, while safe, accessible boxing provides a playful self defense component. Urban foraging expeditions happen by two wheels, in fact the bike is a required component of the program. We often ride by pedal power during this term.
All this and you work with cut baby animals born in March and April...
Spring Session: The Earth Village
Permaculture and horticulture training includes...
• Receive your Permaculture Design Certification intensive early
• Take it to next level, apply your certification to hands on design projects throughout the term
• Overnight at the Trackers Homestead and our 400 acre wildlife refuge
• Working with small livestock including chickens, goats, and rabbits (even bees)
• Breeding and birthing said livestock, experience super cute baby animals
• Intregration of small livestock into reenriching land and diversity
• Focus on cheese making and other traditional dairy preservation with self harvested goat's milk
• Do a traditional and homestead butchering (options for those who opt out) with traditional sausage and meat preservation
• Practice sustenance gardening in way that will really feed your village
• Learn about urban farming and market gardening culture and practices
• Tend to "wild" gardens on our 400 acres, truly reintegrating human relationships with the land
• Help design and develop several natural building projects
Wild edible and medicinal plants curriculum includes...
• Intensive spring wild plant identification and harvest
• Only harvesting by methods encouraging wild and long term sustainability
• Learn about herbal plant medicine, also apply it to livestock in the farm and stable
• Stock your medicine kit by preparing herbal teas, decoctions, tinctures, slaves, poultices, oils, syrups and honeys
• Develop your own understanding of personal nutrition from local and wild plants and other foods
• Start to stock your pantry even in spring to feed yourself and your village
• Harvest and preserving sea vegetables
• Explore the diverse history of herbal lore and medicine
Spring birding and naturalist studies includes...
• Immerse yourself in the many migratory species and their habits, learn the story of their journeys
• Train the Language of the Birds. Magically map the forest and animal movement by bird song and call.
• Train to track on any surface: even moss or rock
• Learn intensive systems awareness and mapping
• Play the Urban Hawks Role Playing Game, score points
DIY and Wilderness Survival skill building includes...
• Develop ultra-lite weight wilderness and backcountry travel abilities: the art of taking little to no gear
• Train navigation with map and compass, land, sun and stars
• Basic bicycle maintainance
• Basic Ultra-lite packing gear
Art and theater skills includes...
• Build team rapport with theater and improv training (all experience levels apply, we walk folks through any fears of public performance)
• Develop your creative skills through training professional level wildlife illustration with plant illustration and journals (all experience levels apply, we walk folks through any fears of art)
• Make traditional and DIY musical instruments. Jam with your friend (all experience levels apply, we walk folks through any fears of jamming
Teams skills include...
• Work with iterative development processes
• Develop clarity and eloquence in communication with a focus on function, not being "right or wrong"
• Learn agreement processes that are efficient, timely and functional, not long winded, boring or dramatic
• Experience the power of the "15 minute meeting"
• Structure collaborative teams that get work done well, quickly and competently
• Write a simple business plan
• Develop collaborative teaching skills as an educator, mentor and guide: especially pertinent to working in the out of doors
Yoga and body awareness training includes...
• Regular yoga training and class
• Work through fun cross training
• Become superpowered with accessible boxing exercises
• Set about urban foraging expeditions by bicycle
Take a Wilderness First Responder as an option
Please Note As we already have many of our 9 month
applications starting for fall, we'll likely only hold space for four
to six applicants for the 3 month option this September. Priority is
also given to currently accepted 9 month applicants who may see 3 or 6
months as a better fit for them.
Posted by Tony Deis on Jul 22, 2009 in Program Info
Leading up to official announcement for our 3 month option for our immersion program (August 1), we're releasing the details for the Water Village (Winter Session). Exploring the ancient history and lore of travel from the arctic and all across the seven seas your team first builds a 24 foot traditional skin on frame whaling boat called an umiak. During this you study marine navigation by ancient and modern methods, throw in a little sailing primer and then make your own traditional skin on frame sea kayak. This kayak is a boat built to your body, in the water you're part fish (or seal, whichever you prefer). We also cover wildlife ecology and tracking with survival in the rain, water, ice and snow. How do you build a lodge to take you through the days of cold and dark. And winter becomes the time for refining craft. We make our own outdoor garb that's not only functional for the pacific Northwest but in true Trackers style its also fashionable as though we stepped from 1000 years of ice. Finally, we retrain how our own bodies move through Taoist martial arts such as Tai chi and Qigong. Winter is the the time to forget and remember ourselves again.
Winter Session: The Water Village
Boat building apprenticeship includes...
• Step into the seafaring story and history of indigenous people
• Study and apply principles of traditional boat design
• Take a sailing primer
• Build a team umiak
• Train marine navigation: both ancient and modern methods
• Make your own kayak to fit your own body
• Make your own paddle
• Learn the safety principles for you kayak, including wet exits, rescues and definitely rolls
Winter and snow survival and tracking includes...
• Stay comfortable in winter weather, appreciate the winter landscape
• Build snow shelters
• Craft DIY clothing/functional fashion for winter rain and snow
• Trap invasive species for the winter
• Immerse yourself in awareness of winter ecology and tracking
• Make your own handcrafted traditional shoes and snow shoes (snow shoes optional project)
• Train intensive ecology mapping skills
Harvesting activities include...
• Go fishing with your team, gut and eat fish
• Harvest and preservation of wild roots and tubers
• Make fun beverages of fermentation
• Learn to identify wild winter plants
• Practice responsible harvesting and propagation, including healthy winter pruning
• Do a traditional and homestead butchering (options for those who opt out) with traditional sausage and meat preservatio
Art and theater skills include...
• Build team rapport with theater and improv training (all experience
levels apply, we walk folks through any fears of public performance)
• Develop your creative skills through training professional level
wildlife illustration and landscape painting (all experience levels apply, we walk folks
through any fears of art)
• Make traditional and DIY musical instruments. Jam with your
friend (all experience levels apply, we walk folks through any fears of
jamming
Teams skills include...
• Work with iterative development processes
• Develop clarity and eloquence in communication with a focus on function, not being "right or wrong"
• Learn agreement processes that are efficient, timely and functional, not long winded, boring or dramatic
• Experience the power of the "15 minute meeting"
• Structure collaborative teams that get work done well, quickly and competently
• Write a simple business plan
Taoist martial arts
• Pratice Tai chi and Qigong
• Condition cold and extreme weather for all levels, feel warm in the cold (we meet you where you're at)
• Train strength conditioning for all levels (we meet you where you are at)
Plus take a Wilderness First Responder as an option
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