Bushcraft Is Not Just For Boys Part II

   Recently, I was once again able to meet up with some friends who are interested in learning bushcraft. We are now regularly meeting Fridays at 4pm and on Saturday mornings at 9am, for 2 to 3 hours, in a local state park to study and practice bushcraft skills.
   On this particular friday afternoon, fellow BushcraftUSA member "Emorgs" and her boyfriend joined me and my eight year old bush buddy, Christian, to practice firecraft skills. I started out by introducing them to friction fire methods and they had a chance to attempt getting a coal with a bowdrill and spindle. Then I demonstrated how flint and steel works with char cloth and finally I had Christian demonstrate the lighting of five man made tinders. He is very proficient at it for an eight year old, and gave a very good demonstration that Emorgs would then try to duplicate for her BushclassUSA lesson "Student Practice for Five Man Made Tinders". Here is the video I captured for her lesson. I hope you enjoy it.

   As I started out with the title to this blog entry as "Bushcraft Is Not Just For Boys Part II" because it was Emorgs and her bushclass lesson "Student Practice for A Twig Fire" that was featured in Part I. Young women are interested in bushcraft, and she is very committed to learning all she can and graduating Basic BushclassUSA.
   I hope even more young people will discover the fun of getting in some dirt time and learning bushcraft skills. The good news is, now her boyfriend is interested. I hope they keep coming to the friday meetups. The adventure will continue. Til next time, Happy Exploring.

Bushcraft Is Not Just For Boys...

   One great hope of all good parents is that they can find an activity that they can share with their kids. They want to find something that is both a great adventure and an educational opportunity. They want that activity to spark their kids imagination, push them to succeed, and encourage them to keep going and trying new things. And if that shared experience helps them to grow together as friends, helps them to respect one another and to joy in each others accomplishments, than they will truly have found something worth sustaining and guarding for all its worth.
   A friend of mine was searching for some activity like this, to share with his three daughters. They had heard about bushcraft and they all talked about somehow finding a way to learn more about it. That's when he turned to me. He said he wanted to start learning bushcraft, along with one of his daughters. He said they were both novices and really needed to start at the beginning. I suggested they start by doing the lessons offered in the BushclassUSA section of the BushcraftUSA.com forum site. I offered to help them with the lessons, by accompanying them any Saturday morning they wanted to get out. I figured I was headed out to the bush anyway, so it would be good to have some company.
   Well, we have shared 3 good Saturday mornings and they have both completed their first lesson, by building a "Twig Fire" and Little Jon has even finished a second lesson,  "Lighting 5 Man Made Tinders with a Firesteel."
   But the best part really, is how his daughter has taken to learning the Bushclass lessons. She really wants to learn. He told me, she can hardly wait to get out in the wilderness and get started on another lesson. She is pushing him to keep going. I like that.
   If you have been following my blog, you have probably watched the video of our outing of April 7th. But I would like to share yet another video of Little Jon's daughter working on her first lesson and completing it in fine style. She proves that bushcraft is not just boys, it is after all, for everyone.

     I hope this will encourage all of you and especially any young women who are interested, to take up the wonderful adventure that is bushcraft. It is part of all of us, still at the core of our being, just waiting to be discovered. Just go out in wilderness. Go and build a fire and do it in a primitive way and feel a part of history. Than you will find more of yourself and it doesn't matter whether you are a boy or a girl. You are a bushcrafter. Until next time, Happy Exploring.