Bushcraft is the use and practice of skills to survive and thrive in a natural environment. Bushcraft skills include foraging, fishing, knife skills, shelter-building, fire-lighting, and pioneering. At 1st Clayton-le-Moors we love all things bushcraft, and several of our volunteers are experts in this field. The young people often light fires and practice their knife skills, and it’s a great way to relax; sitting around a campfire whittling a spoon out of a piece of wood while chatting to friends.
We have a bespoke bushcraft area in the woodland next to our Scout Hut, which we use all the time. When on camp at Bowley we often use the areas set aside for this too, putting up tarps to create a sheltered space outdoors and keeping warm around a fire. We like to prepare fish and rabbits for cooking (although we don’t catch them ourselves – the local butcher obliges with this!).
Bushcraft can feed into other activities such as Survival Skills, which is very similar but with a focus on survival with minimal supplies. Bushcraft, on the other hand, is more about enjoying being in nature, with the tools that you need for comfort. We run special camps incorporating bushcraft, where the young people have to put up their own hammock and tarp to sleep under, and prepare a fire for cooking on. This kind of camp is a wonderful change from the bustle of a large international activity camp, and is hugely relaxing. Scouts or Explorer Scouts especially get a lot out of it, becoming more independent and able to find ways to entertain themselves in a natural setting.
Equipment
The main piece of equipment you need for bushcraft is a knife. In particular, a sheath knife is often the best. We don’t allow folding knives or flick knives, as these are not as sturdy and safe as a solid sheath knife. In addition, some of these types of knives are illegal to carry in public. For safety we don’t allow our young people to carry knives to and from camp – instead we have a supply which we hand out when needed. The ones we use are the Mora Companion stainless steel sheath knife, which is sturdy, proven, and inexpensive.
To look after your knife a sharpening stone is needed. We use the Fallkniven DC3 combination diamond/ceramic sharpening stone. This is a great piece of kit as it is small, has a powerful diamond on one side and a fine ceramic sharpening surface on the other, and remains flat over time.
While you can use any old piece of flint lying on the floor and your Morakniv, a dedicated flint and steel (or more accurately, ferro-rod and steel) is what we train our young people to use. Ferro-rods emit sparks when struck with a piece of steel, which can be used to light dry tinder. It does take a little more effort than a lighter, but the satisfaction of being able to light as many fires as you want without having to buy another plastic fuel-filled device is immense.
Hammocks and tarpaulins are essential for a decent night’s sleep on a bushcraft camp. We use a variety of hammocks from DD Hammocks which give us a satisfying, comfortable hammock at a decent price.
