Bushcraft in Switzerland

On Friday I returned from a few days in the mountains near Torgon in Switzerland. Such an incredibly beautiful place and for me such a privilege to have been asked in the first place. Camp Suisse (Swiss) is an international camp for schools mostly from Europe. The staff were very enthusiastic and eager to learn the basic skills of Bushcraft. Over the 2 main days I went through the key skills of shelter construction, fire lighting, use of knives, campfire gadgets and water filtering. With these basics we developed a selection of programs to fit groups of different ages. I was impressed with the students I had who were mostly university graduates taking some time out. The area is nothing short of stunning with views across the valleys and partly wooded steep peaks creating the scene that for me typifies what makes Switzerland different.

Renewed Inspiration

I have just had a privileged/inspirational few days with a group of teenagers and young adults from the North East who came on an approved Bushcraft training course designed with professional Outdoor folks in mind. The weather last week was cold and damp in the woods and yet everyone of these fine folks just put their heads down and got on with things. It was not easy for them and many struggled with the detail on the fire lighting and yet they stuck with it. On the third night each of them stayed in one of the natural shelters  available, one of which they had built. On the final day I set them a challenge. Create fire with any method we had looked at, you can work as a pair but what must happen is that you prepare properly and make it happen with slickness. The way each one of them teamed up and discussed quietly and calmly how to go about things told me they would succeed. One lad even succeeded on the bow drill that cold morning. WELL IMPRESSED and well done to you all. One of the quieter ones even searched out my business and phoned me the evening after the course to say thank you and to tell me how much the course meant to him.

Mentoring the professionals

It is an on going privilege to be able to support other outdoor professionals to take their skills and understanding to a much deeper level especially as we spend time on more demanding tasks such as Hand Drill fire lighting or winter tinder.I had my mentees for a second weekend of training and in this we looked at much more detail with the bow drill comparing different base boards as well as making a quality set each. With the Hand Drill we worked both as a group in relay and individually. Good levels of success were had despite the winter weather. What was particularly welcome by them all was the pump drill which can be very effective if understood well enough.Like so many friction fire lighting methods the principle is very straight forward however each one requires a level of understanding and technique in order to gain repeated success. One of the most enjoyable bits of the weekend for me was when Ben Rees from The Wildlife Trust asked about the use of a rolled up piece of cotton wool mixed with wood ash and rubbed vigorously between 2 short planks.The interesting part was that he had seen a clip on YouTube but it was not all the information he needed. We all had a go but by looking at the problem carefully we reasoned the solution between us and most became proficient at it using different additives as well. Well done folks!

Norwegian Bushcraft

Having just got back from Norway I thought I would write a few words to express how great it was to be out there training a very good bunch of Instructors from Adventure Norway as part of a project called Innovation Norway. The Centre is near Bjelland 50 minutes from Kristiansund.  Training instructor staff from a centre is quite common place for me but this was a little different. Everyone was particularly keen and showed good competence even though they were very tired from an extra busy time running white water rafting several times a day. Even our training days were divided up due to such high demand from groups booking at short notice. Despite this we made it work between us an they clearly appreciated what I was able to impart to them. Shelter construction, campfire gadgets as well as various fire lighting methods. I also spent time with some of them looking at what plants and trees they had over which predominantly were very similar to what we have with a few exceptions.

Not just the Instructors

A couple of the instructors children were tagging along and they stood out to me with there enthusiasm and competence. Not only were they just getting involved in most of what we were doing they showed a high level of ability in such skills as sharpening their knife and creating feathersticks. Not bad for a 6 and 10 year old. As you can see they did not want to stop making the string/rope.

Summer fruits were at their peak and bilberry and raspberry were in plentiful supply so one evening this was our dessert with some cream. Gosh the hardships I have to contend with! 

Longest Days Highest Sap

This year the interest in the use of Lime has grown notably and I am so glad for not only has it given me some useful business it has stirred up a higher level of appreciation of this quite remarkable tree. At The Bushcraft Show I supplied Springfields Army Stores with 200 pieces of lime to accompany any knife sales. A knock on effect of this is that I have just sent off 500 pieces over to Mora Distribution.The real magic of Lime, however, comes in the fact that its bark layers can be turned into rope, baskets and containers. With the sap so high the bark comes away quite easily, if you know what you are doing, and can be turned into large or small cylinders sometimes complete without a seam. Its a great pleasure making them as well as guiding people through the process on either my Mentoring scheme, Lime Bark weekend or private courses as I did 2 weeks ago with the Oxfordshire Basketmakers Group. The photo was taken during the Lime Bark day I ran at Hams Hall near Tamworth hosted by Warwickshire Wildlife Trust. Peeling the bark off carefully with the support of others along with an original bark peeling spoon used by the last Forester who supplied the Cornish Tanneries with oak bark. Hearing the bark come away knowing we had the right pressure and leverage is very satisfying indeed.

One of the other interesting issues surrounding this process is how it can be viewed by others. On one hand it might appear to be quite damaging as we are cutting down and stripping a tree of its bark however it is part of the ecology and wellbeing of the woods. One of the students on this particular day was an ecologist and she clarified the importance of the coppice cycle and explained how useful and sometimes vital it can be for the variety of butterflies and moths as well as voles which of course in turn have an impact on other species along the food chain. That is it regarding Lime Bark events until next year so if this has taken your interest take a look at the web page and keep your eyes out for next years course or courses which will be on the first weekends in June 2018.