ADULT SURVIVALÂ IMMERSION COURSE
Are you interested in diving into skill-based naturalist knowledge? Curious about wilderness survival skills? Ever wanted to know how to start a fire with just sticks and are you just as curious about the trees from which the sticks came?
This course touches on a variety of survival and natural history topics, including plant and animal identification, herbal medicine, survival shelters, friction fire, water purification, foraging and edible plants, stone and bone tool making, wildlife tracking, outdoor leadership and safety and more. The course will culminate in a 3-day survival trip, where participants will use all the knowledge and skills they've gained throughout the year.
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This is a 10-month class for adults that meets one weekend a month. It is perfect for folks who want to learn more and get their hands dirty, but also have a busy schedule. 4 classes will be Saturday and Sunday, 9am-4pm. 6 classes will be Saturday-Sunday overnights. 2 classes will be 9am Friday- 5pm Sunday overnights.
Enrollment for 2023-24 now live! The start date for 2023-24 is September 9, 2022. Dates for 2023-24 can be viewed when you click "BOOK NOW" on most enrollment options below.
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See details about this course and 2022-23's monthly schedule below.
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2022-23 SCHOOL YEAR
Teachers: Tyler Doyle, Chelsea Ernst, guest instructors TBD
Below is an overview of the course. These activities are subject to be shifted around based on weather. Registration below. 2023-24 Dates can be viewed when you click "BOOK NOW".
SEPTEMBER 10-11 (Overnight. Friday 9th arrival optional)
Introduction & Survival "Rule of Threes"
Overnight Camping Weekend on East Lake property: Get to know your team for the year through sensory awareness and nature-based activities and games. The skills for the weekend will include basic wilderness survival triage; what is the first thing you should do when you realize you're in a survival situation? Topics will include water purification, shelter, fire, and wild edibles.
OCTOBER 8-9 (Overnight)
Make survival shelters as a team. Camp overnight on the land, immerse, and play nature games.
Survival Shelter Overnight
NOVEMBER 5 & 6
(9-4 each day)
Cordage, Carving and Knife Safety, Knots, Friction fire
Learn to make a fire using the bow drill method. Everyone in the class will finish and take home their own bow drill kit and practice getting a coal to blow into flame. We'll also practice useful and practical methods of acquiring food in survival situations, practice making cordage from natural fibers, and get comfortable using a knife for carving, billeting.
DECEMBER 3 & 4
(9-4 each day)
Stone and Bone Tool-Making, Spears and Atlatls
One of the oldest skills practiced by people, and so useful. Imagine how you'd go about cutting, slicing, chopping wood, sewing, cooking, hunting, or fishing before metals were commonly used for these purposes. This weekend will be all about making tools: shaping stone into points and shaping bone in order to make awls, hooks, and more. We'll also do some target practice with spears and atlatls.
JANUARY 7-8
(Overnight)
Join us on a winter survival snow shelter overnight. Learn to stay warm, dry, and fed in one of the coldest times of year. Build a snow shelter as a team, learn winter plant ID, and practice snow tracking.
Winter Survival and Naturalist Studies
FEBRUARY 4 & 5
(9-4 each day)
Learn to build your own bow. We will make two styles of basic, quick survival bows this weekend.
Bow Making
MARCH 3-5
(Overnight)
We will do an overnight trip to the Oregon Dunes to learn about the signs animals leave behind. This is a 9am Friday- 5pm Sunday trip!
Wildlife Tracking and Trailing
APRIL 1 & 2
(9-4 each day)
We'll learn about harvesting and preparing plants for edible and medicinal purposes. We'll make some wild food and medicines.
Edible and Medicinal Plants
MAY 6-7
(Overnight)
Archery, Hunting, and Bird Language
This weekend will be a fun little mash-up of skills; with focused archery basics one day, and the other day, "sinking in" to the land to listen and to learn about birds, the way they communicate, and what they can tell you about what's happening on the land nearby. We will use all of these skills and practice sensory awareness on the landscape.
JUNE 2-4
(Overnight)
Practice your skills in real time. Join us on a 3-day survival trip, bringing nothing but yourself, your team, the clothes on your back, and your knowledge. This is a Friday AM-Sunday afternoon trip!
Final Survival Trip
ENROLLMENT
Price: $2025
Payment Options:
CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS
Note: This course is meant to be taken in full. The Monthly payment option is a payment plan that represents the whole, not a choose-your-month option. You are responsible for paying the full tuition by the end of the course regardless of missed class time.
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Enroll by paying $2025 up front (Book Below)
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Enroll with an initial $225 nonrefundable deposit, then pay $180 monthly until the end of the class, $2025 total. You are responsible for paying the full amount ($2025) by the end of the course, regardless of any missed class time throughout the year (Book Below)
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If enrolling in BOTH the Naturalist and Survival Immersion Courses, please register by clicking that option below. You'll pay a deposit to reserve your spot and an instructor will contact you with further payment options. A %15 total discount is accounted for in this option's cost (Book Below)
We offer tuition discounts for Veterans and Tribal Members. We cannot offer additional subsidies on the dual enrollment option. For info and inquiries on these discounts or need-based subsidy, email info@nighthawknaturalistschool.com