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14 Day Advanced Wilderness Living Skills Intensive I & II
October 18 - 31st, 2008. Students may sign up for one or both weeks.

This course is the most comprehensive skills program you will ever attend! This is the pinnacle of all Wilderness skills workshops. A true "Hands On Experience!"

• You'll help build a six person shelter complete with a firepit. And, all students will get an opportunity to spend the night in it !
   
  
• Learn to identify a number of wild edible plants. You'll learn how to gather and make nutritious meals and teas, even in the dead of winter !
    
• You'll learn basic rockworking and flintknapping techniques. Whether you're experienced or a novice, expert instructors will help you reach the next level !
   
  
• Finding safe, clean water is a problem in even the most remote, untouched wilderness areas today due to pollution, viruses, and bacteria. Learn how to purify water collected from streams, rivers, & lakes without the need for filters or chemical tablets !
   
• Learn advanced animal sign tracking. You'll learn how to interpret and understand the clues animals leave as they move through the landscape relating to their natural environment. This knowledge is critical to Survival and can be applied anywhere !
   
• Also, you'll learn several hunting and trapping techniques in this program. Students will actually make their own traps, and not just see diagrams. *NOTE: No animals will be harmed during this program.
   
• And much, much more !

Testimonials from the January, 2008 Students...

"The 10 day Winter Skills Program at Earth School was an amazing experience. I learned so many useful skills during the class that were not only fun but could also save my life.  I feel more confident every time I step into the woods knowing that I have the knowledge to survive.  I have taken other survival classes in the past, some at famous schools, but the learning experience and hands on instruction that I received at Earth School is second to none. 

I highly recommend Earth School to anyone looking for an incredibly educational and life changing learning experience.  I am truly grateful to Richard and his instructors for the confidence they have bestowed in me for wilderness activities.  They have truly changed my perception of the natural world and changed my life.  From the bottom of my heart I thank them.  I look forward to learning more through Earth School in the future. Thank you."

Matt Conner ,  Hendersonville, NC.

Richard,

"I wanted to write to thank you for hosting the 10 day wilderness skills workshop this past winter. Within the first 3 days of the workshop, I learned more than I have in the last 3 years of banging my head against the invisible wall trying to learn this stuff by myself. This workshop was truly a life-changing experience. For me, the biggest change it brought was my attitude about primitive skills through my experience with bowdrill fire. I have been demonstrating bowdrill fire-making to elementary age kids for 2 1/2 years, never having seen anyone have success on a regular basis. I thought that the bowdrill was something that was almost impossible to get, even if you were a skilled outdoorsperson with lots of experience, and I felt that I could never attain that, especially since I'm not the strongest person, physically. But Seth Recarde's technique was scientific, exact, and easy to comprehend.

Thanks to the instructors, I was able to achieve the success of 3 bowdrill coals in one day, and it really blew my mind wide open. Now I feel confident in exploring these skills, and know that with some good instruction and lots of dirt time, I can do things that once seemed impossible or uncomfortable. This is just one example of a whole new world that was opened up to me during those 10 days. I was honored to spend so much one on one time with such kind, open-hearted, and knowledgable instructors. And I can't wait to come back again."

Hope Donny-Clark ,  Durham, NC.

"There are a multitude of things I remember and continue to draw from that I was introduced to in your class. I can't help but think it is the easy flowing atmosphere and truly interested expert instructors with their unique depth of character that made it such a fulfilling experience. The week was worth every cent and then some. I am looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of one of your classes again in the near future."

Fred Engel, Marietta, GA.

Richard,

" I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the profoundly positive effect your teachings have had on my life. As a somewhat wayward youth, I attended one of your teen camps, and was blown away by the scope of your lessons. For the first time in my life, I had been introduced to a grounded, dogma-free structure in which to explore the world around me, and ultimately, the world within. The effort I had begun to put into dropping out of high school was transformed to a motivation that had me graduated by the following January, six months early !

I attended several more teachings with you after that first, and they were always magnificent. The skill level of you and your instructors is of the highest order, and your personalized attention draws the best from your students. The confidence that comes with building your first fire with only sticks, shrubs and twigs lasts a lifetime. The sense of connection that is fostered by your awareness exercises, and the sense of self that grows and grows with each new adventure has helped put my (and many others') life in perspective; Inclusive of the natural world we all rely on.

Years have passed, but the lessons have stayed, and continue to reveal their wisdom to me. They help my daily problem solving by enabling me to be more creative and think systemically. I know that if needed, my family and I are much better prepared to live well without the conveniences we are accustomed to, no matter how severe. In these times, that is a good feeling to have... personal empowerment is everything.

This once wayward youth has now become a doctor of oriental medicine, a natural outgrowth of wilderness skills. Interestingly, in recent years, I have found myself working with national institutions to find the most effective ways to motivate and inspire at-risk adolescents to help themselves. Knowing what you did for me, I have realized that teaching confidence through competence is key. I can only hope that my colleagues and I can affect people's lives in an equally profound way. Thanks again."

Jed Michael, M.O.M., CHt., CertSM.