Recently, I came across this article in Outside Magazine called Rewilding the American Child. While I love this article I would like to see more articles and discussions on the role of a mentor in the life of a child as that person connects to nature. Unstructured free-time is just a small part of a bigger whole. Imagine your kids growing up with connections to multiple adults of various ages who are like super fun, adventurous, and loving aunts and uncles for your kids. These adults are watching your kids closely for signs of curiosity, passion, excitement, and fear. When these signs show up the aunts/uncles are there to observe or maybe to help the child reflect and be guided towards a deeper part of themselves. The aunts and uncles not only have the ability to observe and listen deeply (as they have practiced form thousands of hours of sitting alone in the wilderness) but they also possess a deep skill-set of wilderness skills that children are hungry to learn. The wilderness skills (along with the mentor) teach the child that failure is part of learning, that nature is a teacher, that pushing our edges of comfort can be incredibly rewarding, and how creativity can flow from heart to head to hands and then manifest as a gift to others. The mentor plays a vital role in this journey.

I look forward to the day we start seeing articles on the incredible gift of having a wilderness mentor in the life of a child. I won't wait for it though and have plans to do some writing and podcasting on the subject. Let me know if that interests you, or if you would like to be interviewed, or you would like to support this in some other way.

 Followed many trails today and most notably this coyote trail through the snowy forested landscape. I love how trailing puts me in a state of total presence; senses peaked, mind quiet and attentive to inner-feelings and outer events. I hear the bird calls around me, I feel the breeze, and I notice how I am feeling about it all. Each trail of an animal I come across beckons me to pause and ask myself do I follow this one? How recently did this animal pass? Who is it? How is it moving? Where is it going? I check the questions against my sensory awareness/observations, past experience, and gut-feeling. It's a state that's not quite focus, almost the opposite of it really, although I'm not thinking about anything else. It's a state of openness.

Recently, I had been attempting to follow trails of stories on FB that turned out to be misleading. Someone or group of someones had purposely covered some of the tracks (masking the big picture), left false tracks, and created circles of confusion. I know this tactic well when it comes to throwing a tracker off your trail. Here it was used in a more sinister way to divide the people.

It is refreshing to follow the trail of the wild instead of the trail of human influence that drives so many to anger, frustration, confusion, and division. To me, the trails of the wild are pure. It is something that can be hard to come by yet it is so readily available.

I believe that trailing wildlife in the wilderness is extremely healthy for the mind, senses, imagination, body, and intuition of a person. My friends who have spent time doing this on their own will likely agree. I often experience peace, excitement, curiosity, happiness, wonder, awe, calm, and joyful epiphanies at the discovery of what the tracks are showing me.

These kinds of experiences tracking inspire me to share the wilderness with others. "OMG this is so amazing! More people need to experience this!!" is a common thought at some point while I'm on an adventure.

A note on nature mentoring from Kevin Glenn, founder of The Wild Nature Project:

Sometimes our youth and teen programs are seen as something extra-curricular and just for fun. While our programs are lots of fun, what is gained is so much more than a good time. Kids who grow up with this kind of mentoring excel in life and are confident and grounded with high-integrity and have a lot of skills for navigating life's challenges. It's more than just learning to make a fire, it's how to add fuel and grow your fire within you which will open doors and break through fear.

Though it may not be common knowledge, nature connects us with being present, in the moment, in our body, in our senses, seeing complex patterns, feeling relaxed, and even gratitude. Then on top of that we add mentoring which brings out emotional intelligence, leadership skills, the ability to work as a team and to recognize the strengths and gifts of each individual. Are these qualities important or even vital to becoming a developed, capable, and confident adult?

Mentors and nature-connection combined can weave threads of strong, caring, and supportive relations. This is what can not only keep teens out of trouble but also enrich our lives in so many ways.

After generations of fading into obsolescence, wildlife tracking has grown in popularity in recent years. No doubt this is due to the work of evolutionary biologist, Louis Liebenberg. He recognized the value of animal tracking skills, and helped traditional African hunter-gatherers use them to earn a living in data collection for wildlife monitoring, research, and anti-poaching efforts.

Part of Liebenberg’s work involved development of the CyberTracker evaluation system, which became an international standard for tracking skills. This elevated the ancient art and science of tracking to a respected discipline within the modern world. But regardless of its status within the modern world, tracking is useful to almost anyone.

Finish reading the article here.

Survival on TV
It seems like there's a new survival TV show coming out every month. What is it about this new fascination with wilderness survival, urban survival, or zombie apocalypse survival? These shows can be very informative with lots of detailed information on how to make fire, acquire food, or navigate. However, the information download can also be a trap in that it can have the effect of viewers feeling more prepared than they actually are. Unless you get out and actually put to use what you are "learning" from videos, TV, or books then you're not really learning and it's not that useful. There's a term for the one who watches the shows from the comfort of the living room and comments "I could do that!" It's called "the armchair survivalist".

Do you have Information or Experience?
Maybe you have a bow and an arrow, and you know what a deer is and you've seen their tracks in a field guide. Does this mean you actually know how to get close enough to take a shot without spooking it? Probably not. It takes skills and lots of practice playing "hide and seek" with the deer to get up close to one, but sitting there in the forest within 10 feet of a wild deer who doesn't sense you at all is an incredible feeling. There is no substitute for real experience and no book or video can take you to that place of real knowing.

An Approach to Practicing Survival Skills
My recommendation is to not bite off more than you can chew. I have seen this many times, where someone goes into "full survival" by bringing nothing with them only to be deeply discouraged from ever attempting surviving in the wild again. Instead, take it in steps and practice one thing at a time. For example, leave your matches at home and bring a bowdrill, or make one out there. Next time, build a shelter but use a match for your fire. Start with what can give you success as the more successes you'll have the more proud of yourself you'll be and the more excited you'll be to go back and step up to the next level. Hmmm, is this useful when teaching others these skills? Absolutely. Set your students up for success at first. When there's a failure... pick the situation apart like a detective and learn from it.

What's most Important in Survival?
4 things to consider in a survival situation, whether it's self-imposed or an unintended circumstance, is that you may need Shelter, Water, Fire, and Food. This is not new information to you if you've read up on survival skills. Shelter can be the most important because you can die from exposure in just a few hours, while one can live without food for several weeks. However, it all depends on your situation and the conditions that you're in. Even though food is last in the survival order it can be the trickiest to acquire. Think about it, your shelter may take you from an hour to half a day to build but it won't run away from you and neither will your fire (well hopefully your fire won't get away into the forest!). Food, however, may have legs or wings or slither or crawl and this is what becomes the greatest challenge, in my opinion. You must decide which food resources are worth the caloric effort to go after. Here's a link to an excellent BLOG article on what it takes to keep yourself alive as far as caloric input. It's definitely worth consideration.

Side Note: If you are "practicing" survival and are bringing items with you here's one item to consider putting in your pack. 1 tablespoon of coconut oil has as many calories as a red squirrel and the oil can be eaten raw or used in cooking, and it's cholesterol and trans-fat free.

Survival Fantasy
There is a survival fantasy that often hits the beginner and that is that I can just go out into any wilderness area and surthrive indefinitely. Having attempted this myself numerous times over the years I can share a few things that I've learned from such an adventure. (I should also note that if you feel this desire then by all means go out and do it. You will learn a heck of a lot about nature and yourself.) One thing I've learned is to choose the area where I will go into survival carefully. There are places out there where one would starve to death and there are places out there where one, or many people, could surthrive. Knowing the difference is a skill that the ancient scouts of tribal times were good at deciphering. A tribe of people wouldn't just pick a place at random, it had to have certain resources to make it ideal. So why should you just pick a place at random?

The other part of the fantasy that I've seen is the belief that I won't have to do much work because I'm surrounded by everything that I need. While it may be correct to assume that you are surrounded by the resources you need to survive it still takes a lot of focus, awareness, energy, and hard work to meet your basic needs... especially in the first 3 days. This is because in the first 3 days you are making your shelter and fire and securing a water source among other things. However, once you have shelter, fire, and a water source you are set in those areas so you can spend the rest of your time finding food. I have seen, more than once, a group of people going into a survival trip and essentially "shutting down" within the first 24-48 hours. Most people aren't prepared mentally to do the work it may take in those first days without having much water or any food intake. This is something you can practice. Just start with fasting for a day and building a natural shelter in your backyard during your fast. See how that feels. Then next time try it with only a quart of water intake for the day. (note: if you're feeling extremely tired, weak, or concerned about your health and well-being then by all means end your fast and attempt again another day)

Conclusion
So then what does it take to actually survive? It takes gathering real experiences and tested skills. It takes the eye of the tracker or scout for seeing into the landscape for the resources that are available or not available. It takes knowing the seasonal changes and the opportunities that arise. It takes having a realistic and honest view of yourself and the natural world. And most importantly, it takes having a mental state that will enable you to overcome the stress and fatigue and instead to focus on the adventure, the lessons, and your purpose for living and why you want to be a master survivalist.

(Remember, other people are resources too and having a tribe, village, or community can make survival much easier and more enjoyable)

I love being outside so naturally I love my program called Curious Otters. It is mostly learning outdoor skills like building fires, and learning about plant and animal ways. Monique and Kevin, the instructors, are great. So, in my perspective they are eco heroes. I just love Curious Otters. I also like the people that go to it. We do some funny stuff. One time we went to Griffy Lake. Me and my friend were the boot savers when a couple of people got stuck in the mud. We saw a mother goose, and we were smashing cattails. We have so much fun at Curious Otters! We also learn things, like carving and fire building. Those things are my favorite. We also find Bud Buddys. Wondering what Bud Buddys are? Well, they are a bush or tree that you have seen a bud on. You have to remember which tree or bush you picked and notice the changes. Another thing we do is find Secret Spots. I am assuming you want to know what a Secret Spot is. It is a spot that you sit at and be very quiet and you watch the plants and animals. We also play games. One of the games is called "Flash Flood". In this game you have to get off the ground when one of the instructors yell "Flash Flood"! It doesn't matter if you are two inches off the ground it sill counts. Being in Curious Otters really helped me to discover what I love to do -being outdoors. It also gave me the chance to make new friends. I hope that nature will always be a part of my life. That is why I love Curious Otters.

What made my day on Friday? Giving 11 kids (ages 10-12) the challenge of working together to build a fire (gathering all the wood from the forest) and then lighting it with a bowdrill fire-by-friction kit. We gave them 20 minutes, they did it in 18. Every one of them worked fast and focused, they wanted it bad. We had 2 bowdrill kits each with 2 kids on it working together. There were many leaders but no one demanded from or tried to control the others. They lead by doing and by trusting in the competency of others. When fire was lit we put a pot of Walnut sap over it to boil down into syrup and we celebrated our accomplishments. What a great day!

I should also note that we've been mentoring this group of kids in nature-connection, teamwork, resilience, and survival skills all winter and many of the kids since they were 7 or 8 years old. While schools test the ability to remember facts, we "test" the ability to use their bodies, think quickly and critically, work together as a team, interact respectfully with their environment, and to bring out their individual creativity, personality, and strengths... and the kids love the tests! But they're more like "personal competency challenges" than tests, and at this age the kids live for these kinds of things!