Outdoor Skills For Everyone - Another Perspective

It's a gusty, snowy morning here at FortWhyte Alive.

The conditions are very similar to those last Wednesday evening, when we ran an Outdoor Skills For Everyone session on essential gear, outdoor trip planning, and general, all-season outdoor safety.

With an eager group who braved wintery roads, I demonstrated a basic all-weather survival kit, discussed minimizing risks in outdoor activity, and then put some of our theory into practice - the group moved outside of the Interpretive Centre, and we built a quick "unplanned-overnight" shelter in the snow.

One of my guests was Jacquie Crone, a writer for Unexpected Manitoba, a Manitoba tourism and travel blog.  Check out her latest post for a participant's perspective on the session! Jacquie was also kind enough to let me use the photo attached to this post.

FortWhyte Alive is offering more Outdoor Skills For Everyone on Thursday evenings in January, February, and March.  A big thanks to those who've come out for the sessions already - and a big "come on down!" invite to everyone out there who'd like to build their skills for playing or working outside!

Bundle up and have fun, everyone!

-Barret

 

Smoking Frame/Drying Rack Complete!

Did the tipi encampment project work out?  Were Chantale and Barret able to make the wood and ropes dance together?  Are they still out on the prairie, tied in knots?

Yes, Yes, and No.  The FortWhyte Alive tipi encampment is home to a new smoking frame/drying rack.  We completed work on the new frame in about an hour - and the strong winds gave it a good test, even before work was done!  Chantale had learned to use the knots I  taught her - which probably says more about her learning skills than my teaching skills, but hey, I'm not going to over-analyze.  I'm too proud of the resulting camp improvement to overthink the process.

We even started drying some crab-apples in the...sun?  (It was sunny and windy when the apples were tied on yesterday - but today's rain was not great for drying anything).  We're supposed to be back into sunshine tomorrow. 

Which is good, because a hearth and other improvements to the encampment are waiting.

The tipi encampment is looking good, and will be looking even better soon.

-Barret

PS:  Tomorrow's Outdoor Skills For Everyone is "Keeping Critters out of Camp - or, how to make every wildlife encounter a positive encounter."  Learn to tree your food pack, what to do when confronted by an angry goose, and many other hands-on, useful tips for maximizing your outdoor experiences.  6 PM, free with admission to FW @ the Interpretive Centre.  Call 989-8358 for details!

Tipi Encampment Enhancement

Super exciting morning here at FW!

My colleague Chantale and I are packing up to go and do some improvements around our tipi encampment.

Specifically, we're building a drying rack, meat smoker, and, if time and supplies allow, a hearth.  We cut some poles on Friday, have a bunch of cordage at the ready, and are going to lash up some furnishings for the encampment.

This is a test of my skills as an outdoor skills instructor, as well as a living history project.  On one level, as the guy here at FortWhyte who taught the knot-tying session of Outdoor Skills For Everyone last Wednesday, I had better be able to lash a basic structure together. On the next level, this is Chantale's first lashing project...ever.  I started teaching her late last week.

Will the student surpass the teacher?  Have the skills of ropework been successfully transmitted?  We shall see in the next hour or so.

-Barret