bushcraft
why bushcraft?
ever since i was a child, i've been obsessed with the bush. the concept of the natural australian wilderness, of living
in harmony with the world, of being privy to the kind of knowledge about your environment reserved for a privileged few -
it inspired a deep reverence for nature. however, this collided with the rest of my personality, which was reserved, booksmart,
and deeply unathletic - so i put away my interest in favour of pursuing others. however, last year, i rejoined girl guides and
met one of the leaders, jamie*, who had a great interest in bushcraft and had actually attended tom brown's tracker school in the usa.
we covered some bush skills in guides, i ended up taking a series of classes they ran earlier this year, and now i've got an understanding of the basic skills!
the problem, for me, is that they're heading back over for a couple of months soon, so any opportunity to expand on my skills will have to
be done without a teacher. so this is my jump into autodidacticism - i have painfully little hand-eye coordination or common sense, so this will
probably be a disaster, but let's give it a go!
sit-spot log
the 'sit-spot' refers to the concept of having a specific place in the natural environment you return to, where you sit for a period of
time (anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours) where you simply sit and observe the world around you. in the context of bush survival,
it functions as a way to become familiar with the natural routines of the place around you. i've got one at a local park and another at the cliffs
near the beach.
basketry (dead link)
one big topic we've covered is making items out of natural fibres. i can currently make cordage pretty well, but really want to progess to basketry: however, i
have no fibrecrafts experience. my last basket attempt ended up in a cylinder of grass, so we'll see how we go.
firestarting (dead link)
firestarting (both bowdrill and handdrill) is both the most fun and frustrating area for bushcraft for me - hardcore type 2 fun. i can't actually start a fire in my backyard
for obvious reasons, so i'll just appreciate the single ember i can produce.
theory and the ecological turn (dead link)
i want to have a page to document books i've read and knowledge i've gained from them, as well as to keep track of changes i've made
in my lifestyle to decrease consumption and increase self-sufficiency.
bush tucker (dead link)
cooking with native plants has always made food more delicious to me - this'll be a place to catalogue recipes.
awareness (dead link)
according to tom brown, the most important physical skill you can have in the bush isn't firestarting or hunting or tracking or shelter-building: it's awareness.
being in synergy with the environment around you makes you more able to effectively live in the bush, and to spiritually live in that environment. on here,
i want to catalogue various awareness games we do - both in the context of bushcraft, as well as a few without.