Wild Deer Adult Wilderness Skills Program (Yr 1)

Program content highlights:

• Wildlife tracking
• Hazards in nature
• Edible and medicinal plant harvesting and preparations
• Tuning your senses and awareness to nature’s baseline
• Making containers and baskets from natural materials
• Making basic tools from forest resources
• Bird language
• Learning survival skills of the ancient and modern hunter-gatherer
• Making fire by friction (bow and hand drill) in various weather conditions
• Tarps, knots, and practical bushcraft
• Wilderness navigation
• Growing your naturalist skills around trees, birds, plants, etc.
• Introduction to basic survival, hunting, and trapping skills
• And much more!

Meet your Lead Instructor, Lee!

We could not be more excited that Lee will be running Wild Deer 1 this year! Lee is an avid naturalist and frequenter of the wilds. Some of her favourite activities include looking at beautiful birds, tracking mink and deer throughout the city and geeking out with field guides. When she’s not hanging out in the ravines running programs with kids, she can be found foraging, preserving, fermenting and making all manner of goods from plants. Growing up in the Taylor Creek watershed and traveling the northeast to learn from many mentors, she is grateful to have opportunities to share her enthusiasm and passion about the beautiful planet we inhabit. Lee has much knowledge to share, and is always keen to continue growing and learning in community.

Featuring Guest Instructor, Chris!

We’re so excited to welcome Chris back with some guest appearances at Wild Deer this year! Chris is a professional outdoor educator, wilderness guide and skills instructor and emergency management planner. He lives on a modern day permaculture homestead up in Muskoka where he and his wife Laura run Wild Muskoka Botanicals, grow organic food, medicinal herbs and practice forest gardening. He has 13+ years of experience helping people of all ages deepen their knowledge of the natural world through experiential education, wilderness guiding and wilderness & urban survival training. He is also a professional trickster so watch out or he might put a mud ball in your pocket.