Survival Skills Classes

Part 1 of the 8 Part Wilderness Survival Series

Being Prepared Survival Skills Class serves to prepare the student for the possibility of finding themselves in a survival situation. This class clearly outlines the Eight Necessities of Survival and provides a number of memory tools to help enhance students’ ability to remember and recall necessary survival information while dealing with stress or trauma. Focusing on elements that have been proven time and again to be key factors whether a person survives in a true survival situation, the course will not only identify these elements, but also cover a number of ways to train, enhance, and develop skills and abilities to maximize your chances of survival. There will be a discussion about some of the tools, equipment, and survival gear that will assist you in a survival situation and that you should always carry with you. Topics covered also include:

• Eight Necessities

• “Survival Memory Tools”

• Importance of skill development and practice

• Fitness, and “survival attitude”

• Legal considerations of outdoor adventuring

• Before you go – Steps to prepare

• Emergency action plans

• Kits – Survival Kits, Bug Out Bags, Get Home Bags, essential components

• Tools and items to enhance chances of survival

• The BEST kit

Price: $36 for WPP Members; $40 for non-members

Location: Meet at Recreation Hall. Enter through the Main Park and the Ticket Gate Attendants can help with directions.

Basics: Bushcraft is educational, encourages creativity and physical activity. Participants should dress for the weather and bring water and a snack if desired. Taking notes is highly recommended.

What to bring: Students may bring their own personal Every Day Carry, Survival Kits, Bug Out Bags, Get Home Bags, etc. but this is not necessary. At the end of the class we will take time to go over kit contents and answer questions about students individual kits.

Part 2 of the 8 Part Wilderness Survival Series

The number one danger to someone lost or injured in the outdoors is exposure. Therefore, knowing how to quickly build a basic shelter is vital. Participants will learn how to use basic shelter products you can carry in your kit, and natural resources you will gather from the surrounding landscape, to create different types of bushcraft survival shelters. Participants will also be introduced to useful knots and the rapid deployment ridgeline for throwing up a tarp shelter. Topics covered also include:

• Important considerations for wilderness shelters

• How to fabricate cordage from natural resources

• Important knots, and cordage usage

• Tube tent, tarp, and sheet plastic shelters

• Ways to use emergency blankets and ponchos for shelter

• Building lean-to, and debris shelters using natural materials 

Price: $36 for WPP Members; $40 for non-members

Location: Meet at Recreation Hall and walk to base camp. Enter through the Main Park and the Ticket Gate Attendants can help with directions.

Basics: Bushcraft is educational and encourages creativity and physical activity. Participants should dress for the weather and bring water and a snack if desired. Adults are encouraged to bring a reliable knife, a Bic lighter, cotton cloth or bandana. Note taking is highly recommended. Optional items that may enhance your outdoor experience include a light backpack, gloves, a wide brimmed hat, sunscreen, insect repellant, and a few Band-Aids or personal first-aid kit.

What to bring: Students should bring the Basics plus 50′ of cordage or paracord and a small personal camp saw or folding pruning saw. You may also want to bring two large industrial garbage bags for gathering materials and other uses during this class. A limited amount of gear and supplies will be available at classes for students who need working materials.

Part 5 of the 8 Part Wilderness Survival Series

This hiking course is designed to introduce students to a number of wild edibles found in Central Illinois and throughout the Midwest. Foraging for Wild Edibles Class will cover an array of local wildlife plant species that are edible and some that are medicinal. Learn how these plants can be harvested, prepared, their reported medicinal qualities and how they might have been used in traditional medicine. Discussions will include the many uses for Common Plantain, Mullen, and Henbit and how Mustard-Garlic can spice up your best hamburger. A batch of Dandelion tea will be made as we discuss the many uses for Dandelions. Other foraging topics covered:

• Legal considerations that govern foraging

• The Universal Edibility Test for survival

• Wild edible plants that are common

• Availability depending on the season

• Where to find and when to harvest

• What to avoid in wild edibles

• Common lookalikes

• How to ensure positive identification

Price: $36 for WPP Members; $40 for non-members

Location: TBD

Basics: Bushcraft is educational and encourages creativity and physical activity. Participants should dress for the weather and bring water and a snack if desired. Adults are encouraged to bring a reliable knife, a Bic lighter, cotton cloth or bandana. Note taking is highly recommended. Optional items that may enhance your outdoor experience include a light backpack, gloves, a wide brimmed hat, sunscreen, insect repellant, and a few Band-Aids or personal first-aid kit.

What to bring: Students should bring the Basics plus a paper sack or basket for gathering plant materials and a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, and plenty of water could be useful.

Part 3 of the 8 Part Wilderness Survival Series

The ability to start and maintain a fire is a vital component in any survival situation. This class the basic science of fire, and then will mostly be hands on in the field. Learn numerous ways to build, start, and maintain a fire to use for warmth, security, processing water, and cooking as well as many fire starting methods and fire safety. Topics covered also include:

• The science of fire

• Fire safety

• Fire starting techniques

• Different fire lays and their uses

• The steps to building and maintaining a sustainable fire

• Commercially available fire starting products

• How to make your own tinder and fire-starters

Price: $36 for WPP Members; $40 for non-member

Location: Meet at Recreation Hall. Enter through the Main Park and the Ticket Gate Attendants can help with directions.

Basics: Bushcraft is educational and encourages creativity and physical activity. Participants should dress for the weather and bring water and a snack if desired. Adults are encouraged to bring a reliable knife, a Bic lighter, cotton cloth or bandana. Note taking is highly recommended. Optional items that may enhance your outdoor experience include a light backpack, gloves, a wide brimmed hat, sunscreen, insect repellant, and a few Band-Aids or personal first-aid kit.

What to bring: These are items you may bring In addition to the basic items allowed at all classes but are not required. You may bring personal fire starting tools such as a ferro rod, flint and steel, a 5x+ magnifying glass. You may bring compact cutting tools such as a survival knife, pocket knife, folding camp saw, etc. Some of these items such as a ferro rod and striker will be available but may be in limited quantity.

Part 4 of the 8 Part Wilderness Survival Series

Water if life. Clean water is arguably the most important resource to acquire in any given survival situation. This class is intended to teach students the skills and abilities necessary to locate, transport, filter, and purify water for sanitation and consumption. There will be a brief lecture followed by hands on instruction. During this phase we will locate and transport water, build a primitive campfire, utilize several methods to filter, and purify the water for consumption. Topics include:

• Locating and transporting potable water

• Water filtering techniques

• Commercial water filters

• Homemade filters

• Wilderness filtering techniques

• Water purification / decontamination techniques

• Much more

Price: $36 for WPP Members; $40 for non-member

Location: Meet at Recreation Hall. Enter through the Main Park and the Ticket Gate Attendants can help with directions.

Basics: Bushcraft is educational and encourages creativity and physical activity. Participants should dress for the weather and bring water and a snack if desired. Adults are encouraged to bring a reliable knife, a Bic lighter, cotton cloth or bandana. Note taking is highly recommended. Optional items that may enhance your outdoor experience include a light backpack, gloves, a wide brimmed hat, sunscreen, insect repellant, and a few Band-Aids or personal first-aid kit.

What to bring: Students should bring the basics plus a water bottle, canteen, or some other form of water container.

Part 7 of the 8 Part Wilderness Survival Series

Even the most experienced outdoorsmen sometimes neglect their land navigation skills. But, when the trail runs out, or is covered in snow, the ability to navigate across wilderness terrain and determine where you have been, and where you are going, becomes essential, otherwise, you become lost, and may have to rely on Search and Rescue (SAR) to help you out. This engaging class is a wonderful introduction to both pathfinding, as well as how search and rescue works and what you can do to affect your own rescue if you become lost in the wilderness. This class covers the following:

• Compass usage

• Pace count

• Enhanced navigation methods

• Identifying geographic markers

• Self mapping

• Signaling

• How Search and Rescue works for you

• Self rescue

• Much more...

Survival Skills classes are designed for ages 14+ and scouts. All minors must be accompanied by an adult. This is a full day class and will break for 1 hour for lunch.

Price: $63 for WPP Members; $70 for non-members

Location: Meet at Recreation Hall. Enter through the Main Park and the Ticket Gate Attendants can help with directions.

Basics: Bushcraft is educational, encourages creativity and physical activity. Participants should dress for the weather and bring water and a snack if desired. Adults are encouraged to bring a reliable knife, a Bic lighter, cotton cloth or bandana. Note taking is highly recommended. Optional items that may enhance your outdoor experience include a light backpack, gloves, a wide brimmed hat, sunscreen, insect repellant, and a few Band-Aids or personal first-aid kit.

What to bring: Students should bring a compass, pen/pencil and paper. A limited amount of gear and supplies will be available at classes for students who need working materials.

Part 5 of the 8 Part Wilderness Survival Series

This moderate difficulty hiking class is designed to introduce students to a number of wild edibles that are found in Central Illinois and throughout the Midwest. This class will cover an array of local wildlife plant species that are edible and some that are medicinal. Learn how these plants can be harvested and prepared, what their reported medicinal qualities are, and how they might have been used in traditional medicine. Discussions will include Jerusalem artichoke, sassafras, goldenrod, wild ginger, black walnuts, black cherry, and host of others. The class will hike 3.4 miles of the Flood Plain Trail that contains elevation changes and uneven terrain. Topics covered also include:

• Legal considerations that govern foraging

• The Universal Edibility Test for survival

• Wild edible plants that are common

• Where to find and when to harvest

• What to avoid in wild edibles

• How to ensure positive identification

Price: $36 for WPP Members; $40 for non-members

Basics: Bushcraft is educational, encourages creativity and physical activity. Participants should dress for the weather and bring water and a snack if desired. Adults are encouraged to bring a reliable knife, cotton cloth or bandana. Note taking is highly recommended. Optional items that may enhance your outdoor experience include a light backpack, gloves, a wide brimmed hat, sunscreen, insect repellant, and a few Band-Aids or personal first-aid kit.

What to bring: Students should bring the Basics plus a paper sack or basket for gathering plant materials and a hat, sunscreen, insect repellent, and plenty of water could be useful.

Part 8 of the 8 Part Wilderness Survival Series

Our Red Cross certified Adult First Aid/CPR/AED class incorporates the latest in science and teaches students to recognize and care for a variety of first aid emergencies such as burns, cuts, scrapes, sudden illnesses, head, neck, back injuries, heat and cold emergencies, and how to respond to breathing and cardiac emergencies for victims approximately 12 years and older.

Successful students will receive a certificate for “Adult First Aid/CPR/AED” from the American Red Cross that is valid for two years.

Price: $108

Location: Meet at Recreation Hall. Enter through the Main Park Gate and the Ticket Gate Attendants can help with directions.

Basics: Participants should dress for the weather and bring water and a snack if desired. Bring pen/pencil and paper Note taking will be required.

What to bring: Bring the Basics plus, please bring your own personal first-aid kit (PFAK) if you have one. If not, that is OK, we will go over how to construction one and proper kit contents.