by Melissa Lang As a rule, those of us who take a keen interest in our health know that enjoying the outdoors is a part of the lifestyle. However, today we’re at risk of being more sedentary than ever. With long commutes, long working hours, the average office worker sits down for approximately 10 hours […]
Archive | Nature & Conservation RSS feed for this section
How to Prevent Mosquito Bites
I‘m sure everyone who loves being outdoors has experienced them – itchy mosquito bites. Flying critters harass you when you want to relax in your garden or during a vacation in exotic countries. I had my fair share of insect bites and was fed up. I needed a method to prevent them. Some years ago […]
Encourage Children to Experience the Outdoors with an Amazing Camping Adventure
by Melissa Lang Experiencing time getting to grips with nature has a unique experience on our wellbeing. Of course, this is due to the physical aspect of hiking, playing and general exercise that we enjoy when spending time outdoors, the flood of endorphins that are triggered by physical exertion can’t be matched, but something else […]
How to Clean a Snapping Turtle
I was down on the creek fishing a few weeks ago and what did my wondering eyes see? Yep, a snapping turtle trying to hurry and get to deeper water because he knew he had been spotted. I didn’t bother jumping down the bank and grabbing him this time but I usually do that once […]
Become a Master Naturalist
I recently discovered many states and Canadian provinces offer naturalist training and volunteer opportunities. Normally run by a university’s School of Forestry and State Cooperative Extension Service, these entities provide training that can be as short as 24 hours to 90 hours or more to become a Master Naturalist. While these initial classes are a great start; you […]
Let Kids Run Wild In The Woods…
If you haven’t read the Master Woodsman article Leave No Trace Killed Woodcraft… almost, I strongly suggest you not only check the article out, but also the comments section, as the discussion after may be even more informative. With the passionate conversations here and on FaceBook (still getting used to that), I ended up doing further research. In […]
Leave No Trace killed Woodcraft… almost
You are likely familiar with Leave No Trace (LNT), if not the organization, at least the concept it promotes in that there are set of principles to enjoy the outdoors responsibly while minimizing environmental impacts. Interestingly, the organization is very strict when it comes to the use of the copyrighted term, it’s logo, and their Seven […]
Wild Woman Claire Dunn: a Me vs. Myself Survival Story
A lot of people talk about “getting away from it all.” This woman did it Australia. For that, and the increasing interest in rewilding here in North American, I felt it pertinent to share her story from The Morning Bulletin… IT WAS another morning of missing lunchbox lids and avoided voicemails when a familiar voice […]
Nature’s Early Warning System
Several species of birds, and even squirrels, make for great early warning systems in the woods (and home) if you know how to listen and watch. Like a pebble thrown into a pool of still water with ever extending concentric rings, a disturbance in the forest does the same thing, only it is the birds […]
Free Online Course: “Land Ethic Reclaimed: Perceptive Hunting, Aldo Leopold, and Conservation”
“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” — Aldo Leopold, 1948. A Sand County Almanac. Free Online Course About Leopold Have you heard of a MOOC? It stands for Massive Open Online Course, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison […]
The Great Stag
WE all know him well; his existence is established now as surely as that of the sea-serpent or the big fish that got off the hook — even better, for many of us have seen him in broad daylight and had a fair open view of his noble form. And what a creature he is, […]
Kephart Days: Americana At Its Finest
Just like apple pie and baseball, camping was purely American. We look back with a refreshing sense of nostalgia somehow hoping to hear echoes from the past. Voices from men like Beard, Seton, and White. But it’s Kephart that speaks clearly on this day. For it’s him that we celebrate at Horace Kephart Days. http://youtu.be/VtFPLfgbPho […]
American Persimmon
The word persimmon usually conjurers up one of two reactions when brought up. The most common result is that of the serious pucker factor when tricked into biting into a green fruit. But to those that know, the memory of a sweet, succulent fruit comes to mind. Diospyros virginiana, or commonly known as the American […]
Camp-Fire Club of America Outings
Last year I wrote an article which included an excerpt from the book, On Your Own in the Wilderness by Townsend Whelen and Bradford Angier. In that article was a quote mentioning the Camp-Fire Club of America (CFCA). I, and my friends who study and appreciate Classic Camping, have seen mention of the CFCA in text […]
Destroying the Trapping Myth
I post this as my supplement to Ross Gilmore’s (Wood Trekker) blog article, Trapping and The Modern Woodsman. I look forward to seeing where he goes with the series. My $0.02 First and foremost, it worth reminding, or perhaps enlightening, those opposed to hunting and trapping, that animals in the wild don’t die of old […]
Natural Insect Repellents
I was in my early twenties the last time I used manmade insect repellent. I hated what DEET did to my gear, especially plastic. And one can’t help wonder what it was doing to me! At that time in the eighties, I was really into hunting and fishing. Luckily those bug jackets that hold the netting […]
Trip Report: Australia
Just got back from more than a week in Australia. While work took me there, I was fortunate enough to take my wife Stacie and spend a few days exploring the bush, learning from the Aborigines, and hitting some of the tourist attractions. For this report I will break it into four parts. First, the […]
Wilderness & Nature Quotes
When we started this site, for a while we were sending daily quotes via Twitter (@MasterWoodsmen). Unfortunately, most quotes wouldn’t fit in a tweet. All that being said, the quotes we had prepared are now all in a dedicated page under RESOURCES in the toolbar. We will continue to update quotes there moving forward. For […]
Trapping with George Michaud
Trapping has a long history in this nation. It was not only a way of life for most; it was also a necessity in terms of procuring meat to make it through long journeys. It is safe to say that for most people nowadays trapping is only something heard about and most don’t really understand […]
Primitive Skills Day at Chattahoochee Nature Center by Richard Bell
As a volunteer Naturalist at the Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell Georgia, I often incorporate a bit of primitive skills and knowledge into my interpretive hikes. When we walk along the river boardwalk trail, I may point out how the indigenous Cherokee or Creek would have used Black Willow as a headache remedy and materials […]
The Woodsman “Zone”
We are all familiar with the term “The Zone”, usually as it relates to sports. Also known as The Flow in western society, it is a well documented psychological event in which many positive things can happen (more on that later). For athletes, or anyone doing menial labor for that matter, the Zone is usually the synthesis […]
Instinctive Navigation: Keeping the ‘Dead’ out of Dead Reckoning by Patrick Farneman
As a child it amazed me the way my father could navigate in the woods. It also amazed me that he could go the whole day without having to go to the bathroom, but that is another story! We could head out on a trip, whether for a few hours or a few days, with […]
Primitive Survival Skills in the 21st Century by Mark Warren (3 of 6)
If you missed Part 1 & 2, start right HERE. A Place to Rest My Cold, Cold Body ~ self-made shelter ~ The earth giveth. And the earth taketh away – especially when it comes to body heat. The cold ground saps a mammal of its precious warmth. When you need to stay overnight in […]
Primitive Survival Skills in the 21st Century by Mark Warren (2 of 6)
Hemlock, Gift Giver of the Standing People If you missed part 1, it’s right here 😉 The gifts of the forest are legion. Today those gifts are thought of as arcane anecdotes to a fast and furious culture disconnected from its environment. Just five centuries ago, the lore of plant foods and medicines and craft […]
GIVE ME 2 HRS AND I’LL SHOW YOU HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD
But… It will also work on a small scale, say, your yard or land. Own less than an acre? No problemo. This will work on the most basic of individual holdings to the Worldwide pandemic of desertification. Here’s the problem: Nobody really cares! Heh, I bet you could care less what happens in some butt […]
-
Survival Entertainment, Friend or Foe? An exclusive interview with Cody Lundin
-
Leave No Trace killed Woodcraft… almost
-
Steven Miles Watts
-
Promoting Outdoor Living Skills
-
Your Guide To Survival Using A Trash Bag
- Why the GBS with Kochanski and Wescott | Master Woodsman: […] first conversation is a podcast with Mor...
-
Kent: The link is no longer working...
-
Ross Hinter: Thank you Chris, excellent article. Sure looking f...
-
Randy Clark: Can't believe I found this website. I only came ...
-
Chad Thomas Colorado: Looking foreword to it!!! I have learned so many s...
Visit The Bushcraft Report
