The Natural Leaders
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Fall is fading into winter, and we are ready!
The students of in my groups have been hard at work creating shelter and fire from scratch, preparing for the winter. We've enjoyed a glorious golden fall.
Now, the days grow shorter, colder. Many birds have flown.
But we remain.
Starting in January we will venture out to discover beauty and adventure, and to apply ingenuity, persistence and teamwork to create an oasis of warmth and cheer on a frosty landscape.
To choose the winter session is a vote of confidence in your child. It communicates: 'I believe in you. You are capable of coping with whatever nature serves up. I will equip you to take on life's challenges.'
To choose winter is to live fully: it's to embrace reality, and face it head on, eyes wide open.
It's a great way to live!
There is no bad weather -- only bad gear.
By the end of the session students know in their bones that they can have a great time no matter what the weather. That mostly choices and effort, not externals, determine lived experience and outcomes.
I've led 5-hour winter programs for several years now, and it's been great! Many students consider it their favorite session. There's just something thrilling about winter, and there's no better time to hone the core survival skills we practice.
We look forward to:
Join the adventure. And invite your friends!
Pick the most suitable location below to learn more or enroll:
- Lorton, VA
- Bowie/Annapolis, MD
- Greenbelt, MD
Now, the days grow shorter, colder. Many birds have flown.
But we remain.
Starting in January we will venture out to discover beauty and adventure, and to apply ingenuity, persistence and teamwork to create an oasis of warmth and cheer on a frosty landscape.
To choose the winter session is a vote of confidence in your child. It communicates: 'I believe in you. You are capable of coping with whatever nature serves up. I will equip you to take on life's challenges.'
To choose winter is to live fully: it's to embrace reality, and face it head on, eyes wide open.
It's a great way to live!
There is no bad weather -- only bad gear.
- Mild days are pleasant.
- Extreme cold gives us ice to enjoy.
- Rainy days test our shelter, tarp-pitching and fire-making skills.
- Windy days teach us to find or make shelter.
By the end of the session students know in their bones that they can have a great time no matter what the weather. That mostly choices and effort, not externals, determine lived experience and outcomes.
I've led 5-hour winter programs for several years now, and it's been great! Many students consider it their favorite session. There's just something thrilling about winter, and there's no better time to hone the core survival skills we practice.
We look forward to:
- Sliding on ice
- Tracking in snow
- Cooking on fires
- Making shelters
- Whittling
- Navigation
- Storytelling
- And More!
Join the adventure. And invite your friends!
Pick the most suitable location below to learn more or enroll:
- Lorton, VA
- Bowie/Annapolis, MD
- Greenbelt, MD
Natural Leaders Program - The Vision
For students to apply themselves long-term at basic survival skills; regularly test themselves; and become increasingly competent. For students to develop an appreciation for the freedom and joy of being in nature, and for the mental habits, work-ethic, and responsibility that survival in nature demands. On the foundation of this character development, for students to dream big and do the work success requires.
Wilderness survival & related base skills include:
· Survival shelter
· Fire-making
· Procuring, purifying water
· Awareness & tracking
· Navigation
· Knowledge of trees and plants
· Campfire cooking
· Primitive hunting & trapping
For students to apply themselves long-term at basic survival skills; regularly test themselves; and become increasingly competent. For students to develop an appreciation for the freedom and joy of being in nature, and for the mental habits, work-ethic, and responsibility that survival in nature demands. On the foundation of this character development, for students to dream big and do the work success requires.
Wilderness survival & related base skills include:
· Survival shelter
· Fire-making
· Procuring, purifying water
· Awareness & tracking
· Navigation
· Knowledge of trees and plants
· Campfire cooking
· Primitive hunting & trapping
Class format
A typical day includes a combination of hiking/exploring, group games, story-telling and skills challenges. Our activities will take advantage of the changes in the landscape and ecology that follow the weather and seasons.
As a mentor, I share stories and facilitate skills time. I leverage students' interests and abilities, and debrief activities.
BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM - Leadership skills and living boldly
Your child will travel a learning journey that builds leadership and life skills. He or she has a unique starting point and future; this program will help him or her venture bravely ahead.
Here are some of the leadership traits the program nourishes, particularly for those who attend long-term. The ways of nature, and the skills we practice take time:
Confidence - To survive in nature you need to have good skills and attitude, which take time to develop. You must apply yourself long-term in complex situations, and learn to rely on and trust yourself. The student will initially struggle at skills that are frustratingly difficult, even when seemingly simple, but with persistence and time will reap the rewards of success and confidence.
Competence and skill - The skills and knowledge your child gains in the program will tend to make him or her a natural leader and mentor among peers in the outdoors, someone others look to for answers and guidance.
Mentorship - The program fosters a culture of mentorship, where older or more experienced students mentor and coach younger or newer students.
Initiative - In addition to individual and group challenges of the curriculum, students will have opportunities to initiate projects of their own.
Self-knowledge and reflection - The program promotes and facilitates time for students to be still, to observe and reflect on their surroundings and inner life.
Accomplishment and aptitude - Through long-term attendance students develop a sense of how capable they are and can become, as a result of good attitude and effort.
Failure tolerance - They develop confidence in their ability to learn and make decisions and try things out, and understand that failure is a necessary step to success.
Teamwork - Wilderness survival group challenges provide great opportunities for students to build friendships and work together with others.
Resilience - Students who attend the program, especially year-round, will learn to make the best of whatever nature provides, which can vary dramatically from frequently wonderful weather, to occasional heat, cold, or rain. Life is not always 72 degrees and sunny, but we can improve conditions with a positive attitude, ingenuity and a little elbow grease.
Work ethic - It takes work to build a good debris hut, or, say, to keep a dinner fire going and cook on it. You need to pay attention to what you are doing, and put in good effort. A good work ethic is, therefore, key to achieving freedom and prosperity in wild nature, no less than in civilization.
Problem-solving - Every fire, shelter, and survival situation in nature is unique, and requires the individual to troubleshoot and solve problems as they come up.
Responsibility - In a solo survival situation or exercise - there is nobody else to blame. One learns that power and responsibility are entirely internal, and can be improved through training.
Physical fitness - Games, hiking, and log-walking challenges help students stay fit, balanced and agile.
Overnights & Survival Shelter
When offered - each overnight will serve as a capstone event that students work toward during the preceding session of day-programs. These experiences teach students to prepare, think ahead, cope with discomfort, to be brave and independent.
The overnight provides an opportunity for students to temporarily strike out on their own away from the comforts of home - and to work together with peers to provide for shelter, fire, water and food. Depending on age, experience and ambition, your child will have the option to sleep in a tent or in a self-built shelter, with or without aids like sleeping bags, tarps and emergency blankets. The fall, spring and winter overnights will be held at the most local suitable location.
Shelter - more than just "a survival skill."
When people think about survival, they commonly think about the challenges of hunting, escaping wild animals, bugs, and fire-making. That's what they show on TV and even in otherwise great books like Hatchet. But that is not the reality. The reality is that people typically die in the first night or two, of hypothermia for lack of shelter. Whenever I want to see if a survival book or show is realistic or credible, I start by looking at how shelter is presented - and usually it's a joke.
THE single biggest life-saving skill is to that of shelter-craft. And building a good shelter is hard work. It takes time, diligence and creativity. It is a process of investment. You invest your labor and ingenuity into making it, and then it pays you back in the nights ahead by sustaining you. It is usually the most important survival skill, one of the most difficult, and serves as a powerful metaphor. But for students to truly learn and appreciate this skill, they need to actually make and sleep in shelters. So this program is intended to facilitate that learning journey of THE central survival skill.
Families are welcome to join the overnight program too, but are responsible for providing their own food and gear.
Bowie-Annapolis Natural Leaders Program
Meets Tuesdays 10 am - 3 pm
At Elks Camp Barrett in western Annapolis, MD
For ages 7 - 12
Co-ed
Click for more details and registration options
Lorton Natural Leaders Program
Meets Mondays 1 - 5 pm
At Pohick Bay Regional Park in Lorton, VA
Ages 7 - 15
Co-ed
Click for more details and registration options
Greenbelt Natural Leaders Program
Meets Thursdays 11 - 3 pm
Greenbelt Park in Riverdale, MD
Ages 7 - 15
Click for more details and registration options
A typical day includes a combination of hiking/exploring, group games, story-telling and skills challenges. Our activities will take advantage of the changes in the landscape and ecology that follow the weather and seasons.
As a mentor, I share stories and facilitate skills time. I leverage students' interests and abilities, and debrief activities.
BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM - Leadership skills and living boldly
Your child will travel a learning journey that builds leadership and life skills. He or she has a unique starting point and future; this program will help him or her venture bravely ahead.
Here are some of the leadership traits the program nourishes, particularly for those who attend long-term. The ways of nature, and the skills we practice take time:
Confidence - To survive in nature you need to have good skills and attitude, which take time to develop. You must apply yourself long-term in complex situations, and learn to rely on and trust yourself. The student will initially struggle at skills that are frustratingly difficult, even when seemingly simple, but with persistence and time will reap the rewards of success and confidence.
Competence and skill - The skills and knowledge your child gains in the program will tend to make him or her a natural leader and mentor among peers in the outdoors, someone others look to for answers and guidance.
Mentorship - The program fosters a culture of mentorship, where older or more experienced students mentor and coach younger or newer students.
Initiative - In addition to individual and group challenges of the curriculum, students will have opportunities to initiate projects of their own.
Self-knowledge and reflection - The program promotes and facilitates time for students to be still, to observe and reflect on their surroundings and inner life.
Accomplishment and aptitude - Through long-term attendance students develop a sense of how capable they are and can become, as a result of good attitude and effort.
Failure tolerance - They develop confidence in their ability to learn and make decisions and try things out, and understand that failure is a necessary step to success.
Teamwork - Wilderness survival group challenges provide great opportunities for students to build friendships and work together with others.
Resilience - Students who attend the program, especially year-round, will learn to make the best of whatever nature provides, which can vary dramatically from frequently wonderful weather, to occasional heat, cold, or rain. Life is not always 72 degrees and sunny, but we can improve conditions with a positive attitude, ingenuity and a little elbow grease.
Work ethic - It takes work to build a good debris hut, or, say, to keep a dinner fire going and cook on it. You need to pay attention to what you are doing, and put in good effort. A good work ethic is, therefore, key to achieving freedom and prosperity in wild nature, no less than in civilization.
Problem-solving - Every fire, shelter, and survival situation in nature is unique, and requires the individual to troubleshoot and solve problems as they come up.
Responsibility - In a solo survival situation or exercise - there is nobody else to blame. One learns that power and responsibility are entirely internal, and can be improved through training.
Physical fitness - Games, hiking, and log-walking challenges help students stay fit, balanced and agile.
Overnights & Survival Shelter
When offered - each overnight will serve as a capstone event that students work toward during the preceding session of day-programs. These experiences teach students to prepare, think ahead, cope with discomfort, to be brave and independent.
The overnight provides an opportunity for students to temporarily strike out on their own away from the comforts of home - and to work together with peers to provide for shelter, fire, water and food. Depending on age, experience and ambition, your child will have the option to sleep in a tent or in a self-built shelter, with or without aids like sleeping bags, tarps and emergency blankets. The fall, spring and winter overnights will be held at the most local suitable location.
Shelter - more than just "a survival skill."
When people think about survival, they commonly think about the challenges of hunting, escaping wild animals, bugs, and fire-making. That's what they show on TV and even in otherwise great books like Hatchet. But that is not the reality. The reality is that people typically die in the first night or two, of hypothermia for lack of shelter. Whenever I want to see if a survival book or show is realistic or credible, I start by looking at how shelter is presented - and usually it's a joke.
THE single biggest life-saving skill is to that of shelter-craft. And building a good shelter is hard work. It takes time, diligence and creativity. It is a process of investment. You invest your labor and ingenuity into making it, and then it pays you back in the nights ahead by sustaining you. It is usually the most important survival skill, one of the most difficult, and serves as a powerful metaphor. But for students to truly learn and appreciate this skill, they need to actually make and sleep in shelters. So this program is intended to facilitate that learning journey of THE central survival skill.
Families are welcome to join the overnight program too, but are responsible for providing their own food and gear.
Bowie-Annapolis Natural Leaders Program
Meets Tuesdays 10 am - 3 pm
At Elks Camp Barrett in western Annapolis, MD
For ages 7 - 12
Co-ed
Click for more details and registration options
Lorton Natural Leaders Program
Meets Mondays 1 - 5 pm
At Pohick Bay Regional Park in Lorton, VA
Ages 7 - 15
Co-ed
Click for more details and registration options
Greenbelt Natural Leaders Program
Meets Thursdays 11 - 3 pm
Greenbelt Park in Riverdale, MD
Ages 7 - 15
Click for more details and registration options
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A quality sheath knife
$15.00 For this program, your child will need a good sheath knife. Based on long experience, we recommend a brightly-colored, stainless steel Mora-bladed knife for exceptional quality and affordability. Nothing in the price range available at area retailers compares. You can pay for one now below or bring cash -- they will be available at the program. Or use the Amazon link to have one shipped to you directly. There are also other Mora knives available online that can work well too -- this one just looks like the best value of we found. |
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