Bushcraft Survival - Entertainment Or Essential?

What do you call the creative use of natural things to provide for your survival? Bushcraft survival. The phrase has been made popular by TV survivalist Ray Mears and Les Hiddins (The bush Tucker Man). It involves using natural cordage, bushcraft knives, building natural shelters, eating wild edible plants, starting fires without matches or cigarette lighters, and obtaining and purifying water in primitive situations. Although early American mountain men and the Indians were masters of these skills, they have been pretty much forgotten these days.

First, these survival skills are useful for outdoor hobbyists who like backpacking, hiking, fishing or hunting. Things can go wrong out in the wilderness leaving a person in a potentially dangerous situation if they don't know how to keep themselves alive using only what they have at hand. It certainly seems irresponsible to engage in these kinds of activities without being prepared to deal with the unexpected.

But what about the rest of us? Unfortunately, everyone now faces the very real possibility of disaster scenarios in this new terrorism age when the actions of a few people can put hundreds of thousands or even millions in peril if they don't know how to survive. A mastery of these skills can actually mean the difference between life and death for you and your family.

There are a variety of ways to learn these skills, from books and videos. While many videos are available on youtube, there are also websites devoted to the development of bushcraft survival skills. But really, the bottom line is to try out the various techniques yourself after reading about them or watching them demonstrated in a video. It's one thing to know about them, and quite another to know, by experience, how to do them. With practice, you can become very proficient in the art.

Bushcraft survival offers a great sense of satisfaction to children as they learn to be creative in problem solving using natural things which are available. It's also a terrific family activity in that it's fun and productive and gets everybody out in nature all at the same time. In the future, we'll take a closer look at specific skills like natural fire starting and water procurement. Hope you can join us!