Make new friends, hike in new local habitats, and learn new skills!

In this apprenticeship style series, join Firecraft Northwest Instructors for a deep dive into nature awareness and survival skills. Our cohort will meet once a month on Saturdays for four sessions September through December.

We’ll cover a wide variety of subjects including survival basics, fire making, plant identification, nature awareness, wildlife tracking, knife skills, map reading, compass use, fireside cooking, and more.

Sessions utilize a blend of hands-on training, interactive activities, and detailed educational content. Every session the group will learn Naturalist Skills, Survival Skills, and practice one Wild Craft (detailed below). We will visit a new location each date for this course.

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Course Outline

Please note that some locations or content is subject to change due to permits, weather and seasonal influences, participants, and location availability.

September 13 | Burfoot Co Park | 9:30 - 4:00

• Intro

  • Introductions and getting to know the group

  • Pick out your new knife and learn how to care for it!

• Naturalist Skills

  • Intro to plant identification, foraging, and honorable harvest

• Survival Skills

  • Introduction to knots, rope, and cordage

  • Map reading and compass use 101

• Wild Crafting

  • Learning to use a knife, knife safety, and carving our first project

October 11 | Deschutes River Ranch | 9:30-4:00

• Naturalist Skills

  • Introduction to wildlife tracking and track and sign identification

  • Fungi identification foundations

• Survival Skills

  • Being female outdoors - all things safety (for yourself, from/with other people, from/with wildlife) and The Down and Dirty (pooping/peeing/menstruating in the woods)

  • Fire-building fundamentals and first fire challenge

  • Campfire cooking and cooking apparatuses in the field

• Wild Crafting

  • Two hand-made camp-cooking tools

November 8 | Tolmie State Park | 9:30-3:30

• Naturalist Skills

  • Intro to nature awareness

  • Continued plant and fungi ID practice

• Survival Skills

  • Additional knots and quick-deploy tarp set ups

  • Fire challenges with natural materials

• Wild Crafting

  • Make your own spore print

  • Fire-cooking tripod lashing

December 13 | Millersylvania State Park | 9:30-3:30

• Naturalist Skills

  • Ethnobotany + useful plants for fire starting/off-season survival

  • Putting it all together - the big picture of ecology and sensory awareness

• Survival Skills

  • Rainy day fires - tips and tricks

  • Fire challenges and practicing with different ignition types

  • New skills for prepping fire materials

• Wild Crafting

  • Backpack-ready fire kits

Tuition: $350

Registration for new participants to the program also includes:

• A belt knife (Morakniv) to keep

• All materials for each outing

• Take home field projects

• Backpack ready fire kit

• Paracord for knot tying practice

Note - this year, we are offering a women’s only group (this one) as well as our typical co-ed cohort (learn more about the co-ed group dates and times here).