An enthusiastic group of young folks and adults from the Evergreen Park Public Library spent several hous on Saturday reconnecting with the skills of their ancestors. Our “Gifts of the Earth” workshop focused on respect for the Natural World, and debunked the idea that fighting wilderness is the only way to survive. The participants constructed […]

This past weekend (June 8-10) we hosted what we instructors thought was one of the best workshops we have ever presented. We had students ranging in age from one 10 year-old and one 12 year-old who came with their dads to an “older” dad who was joined by three adult family members. The entire group […]

We received a note today from the mother of a young teen who has attended two of our Ancient Skills workshops with his dad. The young man had just completed a hand-made wooden spoon he had begun crafting from a scrap of wood, a hot coal, and a sharp stone around our campfire last fall. […]

To prepare their scouts for an upcoming campout at Starved Rock State Park, the leaders of Cub Pack 65 from River Forest, Illinois asked us to present our “What 2 Know B4 You Go!” program at their monthly pack meetings. Because of time constraints we had to split the presentation into two parts–the March meeting […]

Could Katniss & Peeta build a warm & waterproof shelter, find water, and start a fire without any man-made device? The folks who attended our workshop on March 22, 2012 could. The young adults’ librarian at the Elmwood Park (Illinois) Library hosted a “Hunger Games” event on the eve of the premier of the much-anticipated […]

On October 24, 2011 we had a wonderful field trip with the second & third grade classes of The Children’s School of Berwyn, Illinois. The students had elected to study dunes ecology so we were charged with the responsibility of finding a site and developing a program to meet their desires. We chose Rainbow Beach, […]

In early January we were scheduled to spend a half day in a local forest preserve with the kindergartners & first graders of The Children’s School. However, the weather forecast predicted high temperatures of only 15-17 degrees, a bit nippy for 5-7 year-olds to be out for hours without shelter. So we modified our program, […]

We just completed a great weekend workshop with 11 enthused, motivated, & good-humored students; 10 adults and master ridge pole-breaker* and bowl-maker, 11 year-old Noah. The facilities, food, and staff at Camp Minikani in Wisconsin couldn’t have been better.  The weather felt as if it had been transplanted from early October to early November.  And […]

In late October we designed and presented a workshop for The Latin School of Chicago.   The sixth-graders are studying early humans and 67 of them, along with 7 chaperonse,  joined us on a beautiful fall day to get a sampling of primitive skills. Though we had only 3 hours Tom, Ellen, Tim, & I exposed […]

This is a weekend adult class designed to reconnect our students to the skills practiced by indigenous folks for millenia.  It is not “Rambo” training.  Rather you will learn survival skills grounded in a respect for and appreciation of the Natural World.  The workshop runs from Friday afternoon, November 5th through Sunday afternoon, November 7th.  […]