What is Bushcraft?

So what is bushcraft?

Who originally came up with the term bushcraft seems to be lost to history, but the skills involved have been used for thousands of years. The term bushcraft refers to the “bush” being a word for wilderness and craft being of obvious meaning, though there are a number of definitions of the term depending on who you ask. It all leads back to the same meaning, no matter how you word it:

Bushcraft is a set of skills that allow a person to survive comfortably in the wild to a level above what is required just to stay alive.

This often involves using things from the wild to live while maintaining a balance with nature. Using dead wood to make a shelter and only picking so many of certain plants as to not damage the local population should be kept in mind by the wise bushcrafter, with the core principle being not to damage the place you’re trying to live in.

Are Bushcraft and Survival the same thing?

Though the two share many similar skills, they are both done for different reasons. The things you do in a survival situation are done so you can stay alive, were as bushcraft is more about living comfortably off the wild in a non-life threatening situation. In a survival situation you’d make a shelter that will keep the rain off and give you protection from the wind while using as little time and energy as possible, were as a bushcraft shelter will be built more for the enjoyment and is designed to be somewhere to sleep instead of a tent and not because you are forced to. The two have many of the same skills used but when your life isn’t in danger you’re probably not going to make a water filter from moss to drink questionable looking lake water or risk dying of thirst.

What skills can i learn doing bushcraft?

Basically everything you need to survive in the wild but some of the more advanced skills take time to learn and aren’t necessary when it comes to survival situations. The skills are similar to survival skills but more time is taken and more options are available for certain things, like the crafting of birch bark cups or cooking pot hangers. Here’s a list of bushcraft skills starting from the basics to some more advanced options.

Fire lighting
Learn how to build various fire types using different sources of ignition and which wild plants that can be used as tinder.
Shelter building
It’s not quite as easy as propping a few sticks up against a fallen log and hoping for the best. Bushcraft shelters are often more elaborate and require skills like thatching and possibly even wattle and daub walls.
Gathering
Learn what’s safe to eat and which plants will paralyze your heart if you eat them. Learning how to forage and cook wild foods can not only save your life in the right situation, but can often supplement of even replace the occasional home meal.
Drinking water
If you were stood in front of a muddy puddle with an empty plastic bottle and a knife, would you know how to make that water safe to drink using only what you have? Finding water normally isn’t a problem for most countries, the challenge is making it safe to drink. Solar stills, condensation traps and bottle filters can provide you with safe drinking water, if you know how to make them.
Navigation
Standing on a mountain will give you a clear view of where to go, but will you be able to keep that sense of direction when you’re in a forest on the valley floor? Learning how to navigate will not only help you get to where you’re going, but will help you get out of somewhere you didn’t want to be.
Tool use
Using an axe and knife seems pretty straight forward but it only takes a single cut in the wrong place to turn a pleasant evening into a trip to the emergency room. Learning how your tools work and what they can do gives you more options to build things in the wild.
First Aid
Knowing how to treat the most common wounds is one of those things you may never need, but if you do and have no idea what you’re doing it could cost someones life. Knowing what to do with broken bones, cuts, sprains and the other common afflictions you may receive in the wild is a skill worth knowing.
Crafting
Birch bark cups, spoons carved from a branch and whittling wood into various things are skills you won’t need to survive but can provide that extra level of comfort and enjoyment to your bushcraft experience.

How do i get started in Bushcraft?

This part is completely up to you since there aren’t really any restrictions on bushcrafting on a whole, just restrictions on the land you want to do it on. It could be as simple as going camping in the woods for a weekend and trying out some skills you’ve read about, or you may want professional tutoring and would be better off booking a bushcraft course. To start off with try spending a night in the woods and sleep in a shelter that you’ve made yourself, there is something oddly satisfying about making your own home in the wild, even if it is just for one night.