Like Us On

America’s with no manufactured tools – in most cases not even a knife – perfecting these Grandfather’s skills and teachings.

Here are the practical matters that OWL will cover:

Fire

They will show two ways to make fire. The traditional bow drill and hand drill. Specifics for this subject will focus on types of woods, wet wood vs. dry wood, cautions and precautions for the respect for fire. What woods and plants not to burn.

What ancient grass burns were used for rejuvenating soils with nutrients? How and where to build a proper fire structure to prevent destruction, root fires and forest fires. The properties of ash and the benefits and dangers in relation to dry ash vs. wet ash from a fire.

How and why to build five different fire structures based on the conditions of wet, dry , humid, dark, hot, light, snow and cold environments.

Water

Finding water. Purifying water. Finding springs. Natural catches, dew collection, solar still, body ratio to water and the relation to the planet and the freshwater locations vs. salt water.

Shelter

Clothing, debris hut, high speed movement, camouflage, air pockets, lattice pockets, snow huts, pits, and materials needed for the weather conditions in comfort in the woods.

Food

Fox walk, stalk walk, tracking, identifying trails, runs, secondary runs and escape routes of animals and their tracks.

How to make primitive traps, hunting tools and cordage. Cooking in nature, edible plants, poisonous plants, fungi’s identification and guidance. Approaching, honoring, sitting and respecting where and how to obtain food and plants.

One OWL leader explained, “With the Four basic rules of Fire, Water, Shelter and Food we will also introduce the ‘Temples of Nature’ within us and how it relates to nature outside of us. This will allow us to help the youth and their body’s understand the calm, ebb and flow movements nature shows us.”

They continued, “We just need to slow their internal clock down to see it. So they can find their personal involvement they are a part of. To show them how important their participation is needed from nature and how nature is waiting for them to understand their true role as nature’s caregivers to our planet.”

The workshops are being run in conjunction with St. James Episocopal Church, but times and exact locations have not been determined. The cost will be between $20 and $40 per class.

If you are interested, call 734-790-4942 and leave a message. Information will be mailed to you.

Dave Gorgon

A group of volunteers that turns used plastic shopping bags into comfortable sleeping mats for the needy just celebrated its sixth anniversary of making a difference throughout the Region.

Members of “We Are Plarners” have converted countless clean bags into “plastic yarn” – or “plarn” – and ultimately into thousands of mats that are used by the homeless, seniors and others who otherwise struggle to provide suitable warm bedding or furniture for their families.

The group’s mission statement is “help others while helping the environment.”