Wilderness Skills Courses
2026
November 7
10:00am - 3:00pm
Location:
Sequim, WA
Instructor:
Katy Bowman
Step outside the kitchen to discover how satisfying—and surprisingly refined—outdoor cooking can be. This class goes far beyond campout staples, and focuses on making excellent food in outdoor settings using simple tools and technique.
Participants will learn to cook balanced, flavorful meals over open fire and coals, exploring cast iron cooking, baking, and elevated stick-roasting methods that turn a humble campfire into a gourmet workspace. We’ll cover fire management, heat control, timing, and food safety, along with practical tips for prep and cleanup in outdoor environments.
Expect hands-on instruction, shared meals, and recipes you’ll actually want to cook again—whether you’re backpacking, camping, or enjoying a backyard fire. No prior outdoor cooking experience required, just curiosity and an appetite. We will be cooking both meat and vegetarian items, and can accommodate gluten and dairy free needs. Come hungry!
What to Bring:
your favorite kitchen knife
cutting board
plenty of water to drink
Tuition: $175
Ages:
13+ (under 18 must be accompanied by a registered adult)
BEYOND HOT DOGS AND MARSHMALLOWS: OUTDOOR COOKING
November 7, 2026
Step beyond basic campfire fare and discover how refined and satisfying outdoor cooking can be. In this hands-on class, you’ll learn to create balanced, flavorful meals over open fire using simple tools, with techniques like cast iron cooking, baking, and elevated stick-roasting. Whether you’re camping or in your own backyard, you’ll leave with practical skills, memorable recipes, and the confidence to cook deliciously outdoors—no experience needed.
2027
Saturday, May 22, 2027
10:00am - 4:00pm
Location:
Port Townsend, WA
Instructor:
Ramzy Berbawy
Practice the art of fire-making and hand-carve a functioning bow drill kit to take home!
In this immersive, 6-hour class, we will learn to identify and harvest the best local woods for starting a fire by friction—including the hearth board, spindle, and tinder bundle.
Under expert guidance, you will carve a complete, working bow drill kit. We will deeply focus on the physics and anatomy of fire (tinder nests, coal management, and wood species), ensuring you can successfully coax a glowing ember into an open flame.
While our primary focus is carving and mastering the bow drill, we will also explore the broader spectrum of survival fire. You will get hands-on demonstrations with other traditional and modern tools—such as flint and steel, ferro rods, and foul-weather modern adaptions—giving you the skills to craft a fire in even the harshest wilderness survival conditions.
This is a great activity for parent and child!
What to Bring:
A fixed-blade or locking carving knife
Durable, weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy footwear (we will be working outdoors).
Water bottle and a packed lunch.
Tuition:
$160 (Includes materials & WA sales tax)
Ages:
12 + (minors must be accompanied by a registered adult)
FRICTION & FIRE: THE BOW DRILL & SURVIVAL FIRE
May 22, 2027
Learn the art of fire-making from the ground up, including hand-carving your own working bow drill kit and practicing the fundamentals of fire by friction. You’ll explore a range of traditional and modern methods—from tinder and ember management to flint and steel, ferro rods, and foul-weather fire-starting.
Saturday, July 17, 2027
1:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location:
Irondale, WA
Instructor:
Jason Knight
Learn how to identify wild plants, trees, & shrubs and their edible, medicinal, and craft uses; while exploring forested trails and adjacent habitats. Gain experience with practical plant identification techniques. Sample a variety of wild edible plants found along the walk. Learn safe foraging and ethical harvesting best practices. Gain an understanding of the the historical & current uses of wild plants.
No prior experience necessary.
Tuition:
$95
Ages:
10 + (minors must be accompanied by a registered adult)
WILD EDIBLE PLANTS
July 17, 2027
This guided walk teaches practical identification techniques for wild plants, trees, and shrubs, highlighting their edible, medicinal, and historical uses. Participants will sample wild edibles while learning safe foraging methods and ethical harvesting best practices along forested trails.
Sunday, July 18, 2027
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Location:
Greater Port Townsend area
Instructor:
Jason Knight
Before the advent of metal-working all of our ancestors depended on implements made out of rock for survival. Stones can be shaped into a variety of functional tools, such as arrowheads, axes, knives, and grinding implements. Having an understanding of how to shape and use rock is an invaluable wilderness survival skill.
In this workshop, you'll learn how to turn common stones and obsidian into useful tools. You'll create a basic stone blade and other tools to take home. You'll also be guided through the process of making obsidian arrow points.
Students will learn percussion techniques for core and biface reduction, and pressure techniques for finishing spear and arrow points. The class is designed for beginners new to flintknapping and stone tool making.
Tuition:
$145
Ages:
15 + (minors must be accompanied by a registered adult)
STONE TOOLS & FLINTKNAPPING CLASS
July 18, 2027
Designed for beginners, this hands-on workshop introduces the foundational wilderness survival skill of flintknapping using common stones and obsidian. Participants will practice percussion and pressure flaking techniques to create and take home their own functional stone blades and arrow points.
Saturday, December 4, 2027, 10:00am - 4:00pm
Location:
Marrowstone Island
Instructor:
Rachael VanLaanen
Join local farmer and weaver Rachael Van Laanen for a day of creating small projects that help participants become accustomed to working with willow. Participants will be able to make a variety of woven items, including decorative stars or fish, bird feeders, bowls, etc. Techniques learned are essential building blocks for all other willow basket projects.
This is a great class for parents and kids (10 and up).
Tuition:
$140 + $25 material fee
Ages:
10+ (minors must be accompanied by a registered adult)
LEARNING TO WEAVE WITH WILLOW
December 4, 2027
Spend a day with local farmer and weaver Rachael Van Laanen, learning the fundamentals of willow weaving. Create charming woven projects like stars, fish, bird feeders, and bowls—perfect for holiday decorating or gifting.