membership iconMembership : Bushcraft and Survival Skills SIG

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Welcome to the Bushcraft and Survival Skills Special Interest Group page.  Here you can find useful links to the bushcraft and survival organisations, contacts for courses, check the register of those who hold the IOL Foundational Bushcraft Competency Certificate, get advice on bushcraft and survival skills and download your own log book pages.

BSS SIG : Background & membership info...

Inaugural IOL Bushcraft & Survival Skills SIG (BSS SIG) - June 2007

  • A wide range of interests were represented by the 12 people present from Bushcraft schools, through life coach to outdoor centres. The Vice Chair of the IOL attended as their representative.
  • The meeting opened at 11.00 and was chaired by Dave Watson. This was a rather informal gathering with all parties ‘feeling their way’ as it were, and expressing their interests and concerns.  With his wide experience Ken Fordham provided invaluable guidance in these initial stages and also later as the meeting developed into a more ‘productive’ mode.
  • By the end of the meeting the members had drawn up a provisional list of minimum standards that would be required of schools and practitioners, also a list of skills required with certain skills being deemed essential.
  • Certain tasks allocated are to be completed by the next meeting, which will take place on 5th September 2007. The meeting closed with a strong feeling of reassurance and unity.
  • Proposed Aims
    a) To create universally accepted working procedures for the running of basic sessions relating to the subject in order to establish good/best practice especially in the subjects of wild food use/consumption, safe shelter construction and tool safety.
  • b) To help safeguard the growing industry in use of Bushcraft skills recognising that it can easily be misused due to lack of clear boundaries e.g. Survival training could involve a large amount of modern equipment e.g. Tarps, compass, canoes, ropes, ration packs; where as Bushcraft should focus primarily on the understanding and use of the natural resources of the countryside and the students initiative.
  • c) To establish good, appropriate / cost effective training for anyone using related skills.
  • d) To suggest clarity of training/experience that should be obtained in order to run various types of ventures recognising that there is a vast difference between running a simple 2-hour initiative session with shelter building and an overnight camp.

Members Support for the SIG

  • It was important that there was enough initial experience from a variety of backgrounds so that we can be truly objective in our approach to each given task.
    Within the group we hope to have a wide range of expertise that includes Forest School Leader, Outdoor Pursuit Instructors, Outdoor Education Manager/Program Developer, Expedition Leaders, some of the most experienced and established Bushcraft/Survival trainers in the country.     

Aims consistent with those of the Institute for Outdoor Learning

  • At the heart of good Bushcraft, Survival SKills and Wilderness Living practices are true sustainability and environmental sensitivity. We believe in utilising/understanding our environment through first hand experience more than theory. Good Bushcraft /Survival challenges the perceptions of what is around us in an exciting and positive way. Consequently, it is an ideal tool to challenge the perceptions of ourselves/students in a positive way.

Criteria for Membership

  • Members will need to be current IOL members and contribute an additional £20 a year, renewable at the same time as renewing IOL membership, to cover the cost of meetings and administration.

Mode of Operation

  • Initially we will aim to meet twice a year until we have set clearer goals. We will run with a chair person and, hopefully, a secretary.

    BSS SIG annual membership fee is £20; in addition to IOL membership.
    For more information, and to join the SIG, contact Louise at:
    louise@outdoor-learning.org

Photographs by Ian Cresswell

NOTE: Application for Membership of IOL and the IOL Bushcraft SIG is only available directly through the main office of IOL (see the foot of this page).

July 2009
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