Primitive Tools and Crafts
(not available this year)
This workshop is about using all the gifts nature has to offer to get creative with survival. We will use time-honored techniques and raw, hand collected materials to learn tips and tricks for mastering the four tenets of primitive subsistence; shelter, fire, water and food. This will include concepts of how to keep out of the elements, how to forage, finding your way home and crafting with natural media. Discover the art of being human, learn the versatility of fire, tune in to your senses with this unique leisure time experience in this beautiful season – this is a sure way back towards the world from which we have come.
Skills covered in this workshop:
Friction fire (hand made kits)
Shelter building
Medicinal / Edible Plant ID
Wild Cooking
Water purification
Coal burning crafts
Cordage (rope) making
Awareness and tracking
Natural navigation
Michael Kannard
Wilderness Skills Instructor
Michael began as a volunteer with Earthworks Institute after attending two classes; Into to Wilderness Survival and Intro to Primitive Tools. He loves the concept of drawing people outside and away from electricity, so he decided to get more involved. In his professional life as a landscape architect, his focus has always been on protection of the natural environment and on projects that encourage people to spend more time out of doors. Michael’s professional work includes ecological restoration projects and the design of parks, trails, kids camps and even a nature play area for kids at a nature center.
After having cut back on his “work” hours in the last couple of years, he had the chance to spend more time working with non-profits that focus on the outdoor environment, including several stints as a volunteer park ranger for the National Park Service at several parks in the Southwest. Michael is now excited to work with Earthworks to encourage the people of the Rochester eco-region, especially the kids, to spend more time outside getting familiar with their natural environment.