Wilderness Living Skills
- ages 15-17, co-ed
- 2-week session
For those who have completed our regular camp program and are looking for a new experience, we are proud to offer our Wilderness Living Skills program with a focus on developing one’s skills to becoming a "Green" leader of the future. This leadership program is open to campers prior to participating in, taken as an alternate, or as a supplement to the CSD programs. Participants who complete this program are encouraged to apply for LIT and staff positions in future years.
The Wilderness Living Skills program fosters a development and connection to the earth and to the Kawartha wilderness. The goal of the program is to teach participants about their place in the ecosystem, and to develop a respect and awareness of our unique habitat. Participants will learn how to sustain themselves through survival practices including how to provide food, water, and shelter in a wilderness setting. Participants will spend the 2-week program exploring and living in tents or shelters on the "range" - the camp’s backwoods/nature area. The program also includes a 4 to 5 day wilderness canoe trip, and participation in special activities on the main camp.
This is a perfect program for "LITS-to-be", who are looking for a greater focus on learning about and living in the outdoors. Those interested can register through the registration package, or directly on-line. Space is limited to 10 spaces, and recognized on a first-come, first-served basis.
Among some of the wonderful learning opportunities and skills development within the program will include:
- Local Kawartha ecology: plant and animal identification and exploration
- Living Skills development:
- Tools:
- Birch bark basket-making
- Cordage (rope made from natural plant fibres)
- Natural furniture-building for a wilderness encampment
- Fire-making:
- Bow-drill construction and operation
- Tinder and firewood
- Fire-making in adverse weather conditions
- Shelters: Constructing "lodges" from tree saplings with a local expert
- Water: safe collection and purification
- Food: edible plant identification, harvesting and wilderness cooking methods
- Traditional wild rice harvest with a local first nations community member
- Leadership Skills development
- Includes running "interest choices" for other campers about wilderness living skills
- Awareness skills: solo sits, awareness activities, basic animal tracking and vocalization identification and interpretation, camouflage activities and games
- Kawartha First Nations Knowledge and History: guest speaker from the local first nations community
