News from the Field & Forest

FIRST SNOW!

Heading out with the Dryden after-school program this week, we knew it would be a great day for a fire challenge! With the increased need for heat, the kids started cranking out coals with the friction kits. Soon we had a beautiful fire blazing, and we started coal-burning spoons, bowls, and cups.

At the Belle Sherman Urban Forest Adventures program, the group had an epic hike down to Six-Mile creek. There they nibbled black birch twigs (they taste like wintergreen!), made some rock-paint for face painting, explored fossils in the rocks, looked at different types of wood & leaf shapes, and snacked on Cornellian cherries.

At Youth Nature Awareness Program, our Thursday homeschool program, the Hickory Clan (mostly 6- and 7-year-old's) made a fire in a cold snowy-rain. They had to burn through a string to drop a surprise suspended in the trees! Once the string burned and the bag dropped, they found all the ingredients to make ash-cakes over the coals of their fire, complete with wild autumn olives to sweeten the dough.

News from the Field & Forest

This week up at the Environmental Sentinels class at Ithaca College, Tim and Jed taught the students how to use igneous rocks for rock-boiling. In the photo above, they're cooking in a pumpkin!

The students are also carving their own bowdrill kits, as they learn about making friction fires.

Environmental Sentinels, now in its fourth year, was started by Tim Drake, Jed Jordan, and Jason Hamilton. It is a required course for Environmental Studies majors at Ithaca College.

Tim and Jed refer to it as "Primitive Pursuits for college students."

From 3-year-olds to college students and beyond - it's always a good time to put in some "dirt time."

News from the Field & Forest

Have you ever wondered what we're up to out there? Last week we presented programs to over 300 individuals, ranging in ages from 3 to 18. Here's a brief glimpse of some of some recent Primitive Pursuits forest-dwelling fun...

On Wednesday, Primitive Pursuits joined with Earth Arts and several other outdoor educators to present at the Lehman Alternative Community School fall retreat in the Arnot Forest. Activities included creating and using a solar compass, lost-proofing tricks, friction fire practice, and plenty more.

We have also been teaching four preschool classes each week at Bright Horizons. Last week we made wild grape juice, and this week we are working on making cattail mats with a simple loom.

With our home-learners, the Youth Nature Awareness Program at 4-H Acres, we have started two large projects - a mini long-house, and a cob oven. In the photo above you can see the first layers - stone & wood base, fire-stone, and sand form. We'll be covering the sand with clay, which will harden to be the interior wall of the oven.

During Hunter-Gatherer Days, the two school break days over Columbus Day weekend, we had about 40 students in the woods each day - we built shelters and fires, processed wild foods, made wooden spears with feather fletching, practiced stalking, and played lots of games.

What's coming next?

Stay tuned for more news from the field & forest next week!