NOC Wilderness Survival School Workshops

Survival Skills Workshops

These one- and two-day workshops have no prerequisites and can be taken on their own or to compliment any class.  Skills workshops that are scheduled throughout the year are introduction to friction fire, pressure flaking and flint knapping, plants for medicine and food, animal trapping, tracking and primitive fishing.  The multi-skills workshop weekend includes elements of all four workshops.  These can be scheduled as a private instruction course as well.  Other subjects that can be scheduled for you or your facility include: fire pit and primitive cooking, map and compass skills, natural cordage and baskets, advanced shelter building and climate specific classes such as jungle, desert, mountain and sea survival. are primarily designed to expand on skills acquired in WSS coursework.

Cold Weather Survival

Challenge yourself by taking your survival skills education to a new level! Learn and practice specific techniques for keeping safe from dangers and meeting our basic human needs in cold conditions. Learn about proper clothing, making a warm shelter, starting fire, and getting safe water and food. Topics of the course include:

• Fire making when it's cold, wet and/or snowy
• Shelter when it counts most
• Finding wild edibles in Winter
• Prevention of hypothermia, frostbite and other cold weather dangers
• Choosing proper gear and clothing, and how to improvise
• What to pack in your backpack and emergency kit

Although instruction is scheduled during daytime and early evening hours, you are encouraged to camp overnight in the natural shelters built during the class.

Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants:

On several scheduled dates during the year, we will learn to locate, identify and even sample some of the amazing foods, medicines and useful products given to us by our local plant species. Because the plants offer different things as the year progresses, no two programs will be the same, so come to as many as you can!

Friction Fire Making:

Many people can routinely start a fire in the woodstove or while camping, but could you do it without matches, lighters or other store-bought goods? Learn to “rub two sticks together” to create a glowing ember, enclose it in just the right tinder, and blow it into flame! Practice the bow and drill technique, and work with the simple, elegant but challenging hand drill. Understand the physics of fire to improve your ability to light a fire successfully, even under trying conditions!

Primitive Cooking:

Spend the day creating delicious meals from fresh natural foods without using store-bought utensils! Work with stones, clay, choice woods for carving, a well-managed fire and some clever techniques. We will make two hearty, mouth-watering meals for participants, and create some handmade utensils to use here and to take home.

Survival Workshop Weekend

This two-day workshop has no prerequisites and can be taken on its own or to complement our other survival courses. We include elements of our skills workshops such as friction fire making and wild edible and medicinal plants, plus other exciting skills like flint knapping and stone tool making, Other topics covered in this workshop include making natural cordage and rope, map and compass orienteering and advanced shelter making. We may also spend time in discussions of Survival Psychology and Preparedness.

Building a Bark-Covered Lodge

Learn to build a strong frame from choice hardwood saplings and natural cordage. Harvest a tulip poplar tree, peel off large sheets of fresh bark and make a weather-tight structure that will stand through years of storms and extreme weather. Learn many primitive house-building skills such as lashing, bark peeling and handling, use of special tools and making a water-tight roof.

Private Instruction

For those who prefer to maximize their time with one-on-one instruction or for individuals or groups that have specific skills development in mind, we can customize a class for you.  Or select from other skills workshops for a full-day of hands on instruction.

• Fire Pit and Primitive Cooking
• Map and Compass Skills
• Natural Cordage and Baskets
• Advanced Shelter Building
• Jungle, Desert, Mountain and Sea Survival

All coursework requires an average level of physical fitness. The private woodland where courses take place, Hemlock Ridge, is located approximately 1/4 mile from the main NOC campus.  It is a steep climb and those unaccustomed to hiking with a day pack under these conditions may find this moderately challenging.  Please contact the NOC Survival School if you would like more clarification.