Bird Language Basics

   Spring is the best time to listen to the birds. There are nests with offspring chirping for food. It is easy to find hidden bird nests by listening carefully and learning to walk quietly in the woods.

Edible Wild Plants in the British Isles

   Here in Ireland and the United Kingdom, it is easy to find plenty of edible options no matter what time of year it is. Wild edible plants can be found in the hedges and ditches along country roads and the edges of the wilder places.
 

Winter Tracking

   As the winter season settles in and we see the days getting darker and colder the time for going outside to immerse yourself in the wonders of nature are never better. Now is the time to practise your five minute fire and build your debris hut that will keep you warm during the snowy windy nights.  Once you have your fist sized fire warming your cup of tea, you look around the icy landscape and notice little footprints in the snow.

Building a Debris Hut

   During our Basic Bushcraft course we demonstrate how to design and build a small hut made from plant materials and a few broken sticks. This takes about an hour of class time with ten people building one hut.
   In reality, it would take a minimum of three hours for one person to build a one person hut.

Dressing in Layers

   Winter is coming. As autumn comes to a close and blustery weather approaches it is important to dress appropriately. Dressing in layers allows you to quickly add or remove clothing to maintain body temperature that is comfortable depending on activity levels or weather conditions to prevent sweating.

   Here in Ireland we have cold rain most of the winter. By dressing in this layer system you can keep from overheating or getting too damp from exercise.

Filming with RTE

Over the past couple of weeks, Aebhric has been filming 14 episodes of Bushcraft skills for Elev8. It is a kids programme for RTE 2.
It was filmed on location at Kippure Adventure Centre in County Wicklow. During the filming there were demonstrations and challenges for the kids. They had to make a Lord of the Rings pitch torch, cutting edges from stones, edible feast from the woods and many more skills.

The Elev8 show will have these 3.5 minute episodes starting in September and running until December, 2011. You can find them on the RTE iPlayer.

Wildcrafting your herbal tea.

Bushcraft is all about a cup of tea. Let's face it. When you are out and about in the deep woods of Ireland or wherever you happen to be a cup of warm tea makes all the difference. It means that you have a good heat source, water source and good kit to boil the kettle. Once you are at the cup of tea phase of your weekend away it means that most of the hard work of building your debris hut and finding dry wood has been finished and now it is time to enjoy nature.

Finding wildcrafted herbs for your tea is simple enough even in the mono culture of the forestry here in Ireland. Yarrow is my favourite. Right now the Meadowsweet is perfect for collecting and it tastes wonderful. It even has aspirin in it in case you have some aches and pains.

The best and easiest option is to use the green needles found on your coniferous trees. Fir, Spruce, Pine and Larch work well. DO NOT USE YEW or CEDAR!!!! They have toxins in them.

Collect three or four sprigs of needles and place them in your tea cup. Pour boiling water over them and let them steep for five minutes. You will begin to notice a lovely colour as it sets. After five minutes pull the sprigs out and taste your bushcrafted tea.
Sip the tea through your teeth in case you missed any floating needles.

Sit back and enjoy your weekend in the woods.

Adventure Weekend at the RDS

   We just returned from a three day event at the RDS where 60 small businesses gathered to show people where and how to enjoy Ireland's great outdoors. We had a small booth where we talked with hundreds of people who hadn't heard about Remote Medicine Ireland.
   Aebhric also had a discussion at the Outsider Think Tank where he discusses Wilderness Psychology and why is it that some people live and some people just sit down and die in survival conditions.
   We enjoyed the weekend but are happy to be back here in South Kerry with our mountains, trees and ocean.

Bushcraft fitness

It is important for bushcrafters to be able be out and about in semi rugged and remote areas in all sorts of weather conditions. Since we do this for fun we do have the option to be "fair weather walkers" but some of the most exciting and memorable bushcraft events have often been under adverse conditions.

Walking Staff

   When out and about in the wilds of Ireland it is important to have with you a walking staff. It gives you added support on uneven terrain. It is a readily available tool for rustling up the coal bed or a place to hang your jacket...

Book Review: Deep Survival

This is one of those books that must be read once per year. I have had this book for two years now and am just about ready for my third read. I also downloaded this book as an audio book. Anna and I are fond of listening to books as we drive or work around the homestead.

Winter Bushcraft

   With the coming of crisp evenings and fall colours descending from the trees it is the perfect time to spend a weekend out in the wonders of wild Ireland. Grab your hammock, sleeping bag and some provisions and heat outside.

   The four basic bushcraft skills are Shelter, Fire, Water, and Food. Once you have taken care of all of these issues you are prepared to spend a lovely winter weekend in the woods.

The Balance in Bushcraft

There are many different approaches to learning wilderness survival and bushcraft skills. On one hand there is the military approach that focuses on a lot of high end kit that you have on you at all times. At the other end of this continuum is the Hippy approach to survival. The hippies tent to look at the wilderness with respect but can underestimate the ruggedness and how unforgiving Nature can be.

The Ascetism of Mountains and Living in Nature

“The Mountain is not merely something eternally sublime.

 It has a great historical and spiritual meaning”

Alan Paton  TIME magazine, 25 April 1988, p. 106

   Almost anyone can sense the mystic appeal of mountains and Nature. Mountains are, or transcribe in visible form, the lofty unknown. In principle accessible to humans, they are still a realm apart, purer than our daily world yet inhabited by awesome, elemental powers which may give life or kill. Knowledge comes from, or can be found in the mountains. In mountains dwell the uncomfortably potent spirits of the dead. Intuitions like these are the common heritage of humanity.

Advanced Cardiac Life Support Course

   I just finished another ACLS course. This was the first one that I have taken since moving here to Ireland. It is still the same curriculum and still quite difficult to pass. It has been eight years since I took my last one and I still struggle with the drug list.

The Rule of Threes

   You can survive without certain important things in a survival situation.

You can survive 3 minutes without air
You can survive 3 hours without shelter
You can survive 3 days without water
You can survive 3 weeks without food

We at Kerry Bushcraft School have added two more categories:

Spring Wild Edibles

  This is the best time of the year for finding and eating wild edible plants. The fresh green shoots are up and the tender leaves are just waiting for us to devour them.

March 2010 Bushcraft course

   This past weekend saw seven students arriving at IPNA for our Basic and Advanced Bushcraft course. They arrived with great weather that quickly turned into rough wind and rain. Here in South Kerry we are used to seeing this kind of weather year around. We were a bit fooled by the incredible sunshine and warmth that arrived for the two weeks prior to the start of the course.

Dynamic Archery

   Dynamic Archery is the practise of shooting arrows while crouching, walking or running. For most people, the sport of archery consists of standing still and shooting your arrow with all the time in the world to perfect your shot.
   Can you do that while someone else is shooting back at you? Can you aim correctly after running through the woods to get a better shooting position?

Medical Kits

   Whether you are in the woods or in town it is important to have medical training 
and a good medical kit available.

   During our Basic Bushcraft course we discuss how important it is to always have a small survival tin with you at all times. You can make them small enough that you forget about it somewhere in one of your pockets. You should have one of these kits in every jacket, jumper, and coat that you own.
   The same preparation is important with a medical kit. You don't need a large kit containing massive trauma supplies. Put a few plasters, tablets, steristrips and an alcohol wipes into your bushcraft kit or a separate medical kit.