A weekend bushcraft course can open up a whole new world to those looking to add to their wilderness survival skills. Learn techniques for lighting fires, identifying edible plants and trees, preparing rabbit, fish or birds and using knives and saws safely and efficiently.
Alderleaf offers a wide range of wilderness survival courses including weekend classes and nine-month training programs.
Learn the basics
You can learn basic survival skills on the internet or from books, but mastering these skills requires hands-on experience in a safe and controlled environment. This is what weekend bushcraft courses offer. They introduce you to wilderness survival techniques and provide a solid base of knowledge that you can take with you on future camping trips.
Participants will be taught basic fire lighting, plant identification and shelter building. They will also learn how to process plant materials to create primitive cordage. This knowledge will be useful in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency situation where modern resources are scarce.
Many people attend weekend bushcraft courses to improve their outdoor skills and gain a better understanding of nature. They can then apply these skills when they are camping or hiking, and even pass them on to their family members and friends. The skills that you learn can help you reconnect with nature and boost your confidence.
Build a shelter
A survival shelter is one of the most important things to have in a wilderness situation. It will help keep you warm and protected from the elements, allowing you to focus your energy on vital survival tasks like finding food and water.
To build a survival shelter, start by choosing a location that is protected from the wind. You can do this by finding a pair of trees with low split trunks or forked trees within 10 feet (3.0 m) of each other.
Next, construct the frame of the shelter using twigs and branches. Then cover the twigs and branches with dry leaves, bark, and other debris to insulate the shelter.
It’s best to locate your shelter away from game trails as you don’t want animals visiting during the night. Finally, a door is crucial as it will prevent heat from escaping the shelter and keeps it warm inside. If possible, use a piece of thick leaf or bark to make the door.
Prepare a meal
Food cooked over a campfire can be one of the most rewarding experiences of any wilderness trip. It’s also a fantastic way to get kids interested in bushcraft and the outdoors.
Cooking for a group at camp requires careful planning. The key is to choose recipes that are easily scalable, for example stews or simple curries. This allows the cook to add extra vegetables or ingredients as the number of participants at camp changes, keeping everyone well fed without overworking the cook.
Learn to find and prepare your own food on this overnight wilderness weekend training scenario! Learn how to track animals, build survival shelters like debris huts and lean-tos, practice essential survival knots, and make fire with foraged materials. We will also teach you how to hunt for food and make snares and traps. Finally, we’ll teach you to find, gather and purify water from wilderness environments. You’ll leave with a skill set that will allow you to adventure and survive in the Sonoran Desert, Woodlands and Southwest Mountains!
Sleep under the stars
Imagine waking up each morning and breathing in that fresh outside air, being one with nature and seeing the stars twinkle overhead. This course gives you the opportunity to do just that as you sleep outdoors on both Friday and Saturday nights.
After thrilling game drives through Zimbabwe’s massive Hwange National Park, head back to Linkwasha Camp and spend the night under a sky bursting with billions of stars on a comfy star-bed. The’sleepout’ is situated a little way away from the main camp, giving you the sense of being truly immersed in wilderness.
The weekend bushcraft course is the perfect experience for those who want to learn more about outdoor living and survival skills, or even just get a taste of what it’s like sleeping under the stars in unpolluted nature. It’s also an ideal adventure for couples, groups of friends or families who are looking to spend a few days getting back to basics in the wild.