The Wildwood Workbook: Nature Appreciation and Survival
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“Man is an animal, not domesticated but civilized... but as the years go on domestication becomes a bit closer to the truth. Why not re-claim a bit of the wild legacy of our forebears, leave the self-chosen zoo cages of perpetual four walls and not merely go for a walk in the woods, but truly engage with the environment? Grab a bit of that deep visceral “I am part of this!” If these words strike a chord, this book is a mighty fine guide to how to take that wild walk.” ~Mark Hatmaker,
Do you want to see more, do more, and have more fun outdoors? Do you want to be more prepared for potential danger when you're camping or out hiking on the trail? Whether you're a seasoned woodsman or an inexperienced greenhorn, this simple, straightforward, step-by-step workbook's 35 exercises will deepen your relationship with nature and get your heart and mind engaged like never before. As lean as a coyote and straight as an arrow, this little 120 page book is packed with action and meaning. Includes essential gear lists, the ABCs of first aid, woodland self-defense basics, how to decide when to stay put and when to self rescue, the survival formula, simple arts and crafts, tracking exercises, wild plant identification exercises, and much more. About the author: Robert Mitchell Jr is a Frontier Rough & Tumble Martial Arts instructor with over 30 years experience in martial arts and outdoor skills who has hiked high mountains from his native Virginia all the way to Japan's Mount Rokkō.
Robert Mitchell, Jr
Robert Mitchell is a writer, martial arts expert, and archdeacon in the Old Catholic tradition from Richmond, VA. A martial artist for over thirty years, he is the founder of Heritage Arts Inc., a 501(c)(3) federally-recognized non-profit educational charity providing free instruction in martial arts, fitness, outdoor skills, and spiritual development. In 2011 he was awarded the rank of Master by the Combat Martial Arts Practitioners Association, and in 2019 became an authorized instructor of Mark Hatmaker's Frontier Rough & Tumble Martial arts program.On the subject of martial arts and related topics he has penned "Martial Grit: Real Fighting Fitness on a Budget" and "The Calisthenics Codex" which has been in Smashword's Top 10 fitness books since its publication in 2015. His fiction works include the novels "Chatters on the Tide," "Ghilan" and "The 14th Mansion," as well as numerous poems, ‘zines, comic books, and short pieces. His work has appeared in the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Hulltown 360 Literary Journal, and more.He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1983 with a B.A. in English. He and his wife are the proud parents of four children and five grandchildren.
Read more from Robert Mitchell, Jr
The Calisthenics Codex: Fifty Exercises for Functional Fitness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Martial Grit: Real Fighting Fitness (On a Budget) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
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The Wildwood Workbook - Robert Mitchell, Jr
The Wildwood Workbook: Nature Appreciation and Survival
by Robert Mitchell Jr.
Copyright 2019, all rights reserved. Smashwords edition. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except by critics wishing to quote brief passages in connection with a review. Thank you for downloading this eBook.
All words, pictures and sketches by Robert Mitchell Jr.
Your support and respect for the property of this author are appreciated. See what he’s up to by visiting his virtual office at
remitchelljr.com
DISCLAIMER
Although the contents of this book have been carefully researched, the author and publisher make no representation or warranties with respect to the safety, accuracy, applicability, suitability, or completeness of the material presented. It is for educational purposes only.
Author and publisher disclaim any warranties express or implied, and shall in no event be held liable to any party for any direct, indirect, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages arising directly or indirectly from any use of this material, which is provided as is
, and without warranties.
Author and/or publisher are not responsible for injuries associated with the information in this work. You are responsible for your own safety.
CONTENTS
Introduction
1. Make Yourself a Possibles Bag
2. Memorize the Survival Formula
3. Learn When to Run and When to Fight
4. Learn First Aid
5. Make a Debris Hut
6. Find and Purify Water
7. Start a Fire
8. Find Some Food
9. Decide to Stay or Go
10. Find your Way
11. Understand How the Sun Works
12. Understand How the Moon Works
13. Get Accustomed to Being Outside
14. Observe the Weather
15. Get to Know your Neighbors
16. Get to Know a Piece of Dirt
17. Get to Know A Patch of Woods
18. Start Making Friends with a Few Plants
19. Give a Tree a Name
20. Carve Yourself a Bowl and Spoon
21. Practice Being a Raccoon
22. Give Thanks and Avoid Waste
23. Get Wet and Forage Some More
24. Make Some Leaf Stamps
25. Make a Pine Needle Basket
26. Sketch Some Tracks
27. Put Yourself in an Critter's Shoes
28. Open a Window
29. Get Fit for Hiking and Woodsrunning
30. Your Final Exam -- Spend a Night Alone in the Woods
31. Encourage Continuing Education
Bonus Section: Seasonal Exercises
32. Take a Snow Walk
33. Revisit a Piece of Dirt
34. Discover Springtime Edibles
35. Make Some Spring Observations
36. Do a Spring Cleaning
37. Discover the Meaning of Summer
38. Reflect on Summer
39. Discover What You're Thankful For
40. See What Falls First
41. Make Some Acorn Bread
Introduction
At some point during the late 1990s, something strange started happening to outdoor TV shows. Reality TV
began replacing the relaxing and informative nature shows of my childhood. Now they are completely extinct. No more two hour Jacques Cousteau specials with long quiet shots of beautiful corals and amazing cuttlefish. No more does the camera linger over nut brown sailors inspecting their diving rigs. No close-ups of determined, windswept scientists, their faces tinted green by oscilloscope light. Where are those mysterious glimpses of animals, caught unevenly in a bathyscaphe’s flood lamp or a jeep’s headlight beam? Like Marlin Perkins, very sadly, they are no more.
We are inundated by stories of people who must survive, not just the quest for shelter, water and food, but the barbed tongues of their co-stars, the slings and arrows of nearsighted producers and the horror of Nielsen ratings, advertising plugs and market shares. And if that’s not enough, sometimes they have to do all of that while being filmed 24 hours a day -- naked.
This manufactured drama obscures deeper, quieter truths too subtle be heard over all the hype. Every wild animal you see out your suburban picture window is in a desperate but quiet struggle for survival. And as for you, well you’re one unlucky break or careless mistake away from being in the same boat as the squirrels scampering around your back yard. If your car breaks down in a rural area in freezing weather, or a freak rainstorm soaks you to the skin while on a winter hike, you could be hypothermic inside of twenty minutes and dead in a few hours -- all without making a sound.
Mother Nature is plenty extreme without all the embellishment. She is a mute, expressionless assassin.
Her subtle hand may be ruthless but can also be loving. The quiet calmness of nature has incredible healing powers. A host of studies -- as pointed out in bestsellers like Your Brain on Nature, Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle -- have made it clear that going outside is a miracle cure. A 2011 study by the University of Chiba in Japan found that an unhurried walk among the pines improved mood while decreasing anxiety. But the benefits didn’t stop there. Subjects produced less stress hormones, their blood pressure and heart rates dropped, and they burned calories too, which is always a good thing. I know this because I have been healed by nature.
Back in 1986 I was 80 pounds overweight and unhealthy in mind, body and spirit. I turned to Korean Karate for exercise and discipline. Within two years I had lost all the extra pounds, turned my attitude around, and doubled my income. One of the first things I learned were the Five Requisites of Physical Development of Taekwondo, which are as follows: 1. Contact with natural surroundings. 2. Contact with diverse physical conditions. 3. Suitable exercise. 4. Healthy food. 5. Sufficient rest. I was living in a small apartment back then so, if I wanted to get any training done beyond the walls of the studio, I had to do it outdoors. Plus, I figured I’d be taking requirements #1 and #2 to heart. So I started training outside almost every day. Eventually I got the point where I trained outdoors regardless of the season or the weather.
Looking back, Mother Nature probably had almost as much to do with my change in outlook as the martial arts did. That’s why my martial arts clubs all operate outdoors -- both Cabal Fang, which is my eclectic, non-profit martial arts project, and my frontier-styled rough and tumble organization called Bobcat Martial Arts. The whole contact-with-natural-surroundings
idea is built right into them both. I’ve been training outdoors, rain or shine, year round, since 2009.
I had always wanted to go camping when I was a kid, but it wasn’t my dad’s thing. So, when my outlook changed back in the 80s, and I decided to start going on my own. And since I had starting making a sincere effort to be the best father I could be, I took my son camping with me. He's in his thirties now, and over the years we've had incredible adventures all over the world. We’ve hiked to top of Mount Mitchell right here in my home state of Virginia, USA (the name's just a coincidence, it’s not named after us!) which is the highest peak in Eastern North America. And we've hiked to the top of Mount Rokkō, the highest point in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. When my daughters came along, they started camping too. Camping was, and still is, a central activity for me, my kids, and now