Intro to Survival Skills: Shelter, Fire and Knots

Please note the only way to register for this adventure is on our website.
Spend a Saturday becoming someone who knows what to do.
Join us for a hands-on beginner day in Copeland Forest with Kyle, a survival instructor with over a decade of experience. You'll pitch a shelter, light a fire without matches, carve with a knife and tie the knots that hold it all together.
This class is open to any adult, member or not. Come on your own or bring a friend. Most people at our classes arrive solo. Total beginners are welcome: Kyle starts from zero, and there's no hiking, just short walks into the trees to gather wood.
Kit provided: Tarps, saws, hatchets, loaner ferro rods and knives to borrow, plus your own tinder kit and a printed handout. Want your own ferro rod (+$10) or Mora knife (+$40) to keep? Add one when you book.
Getting there: Add the bus for $50 and we'll pick you up at Keele Station at 8am and drop you back around 6pm. Or drive yourself to the P1 parking lot in Copeland Forest, near Horseshoe Valley, about an hour and a half north of Toronto.
No membership needed. After you book, we'll email you the waiver to sign and your plan with directions, timings and a packing list.
Accessibility
Wilderness Union is committed to making our adventures as accessible as possible. If you wish to make an accommodation request relating to a disability or provide feedback, please do so by sending an email to info@wildernessunion.com
Highlights
Put a roof over your head: Learn to pick a good spot and pitch a tarp two ways, the A-frame and the plow point, so you know how to stay dry when the weather turns.
Light a fire without matches: Catch a ferro rod spark on fluffed jute, build up through twigs to logs, split wood by batoning and carve feather sticks.
Knots, knife work and a tripod grill: Learn the taut-line hitch, slip knot and bowline, carve your own chopsticks, spoon or spatula, then lash a tripod and grill over the fire.
Itinerary
08:00 - Bus leaves Keele Station (if you've added it)
10:00 - Meet at location, for a welcome, safety talk and knife handling
Late morning - Tarp shelters: the A-frame and the plow point
Lunch - Bring a packed lunch and eat around the fire
Afternoon - Fire without matches: ferro rod, jute, batoning and feather sticks
Late afternoon - Knots, bush cutlery and a tripod grill
16:00 - Wrap up and head home
18:00 - Bus arrives back at Keele Station
Event cost: $135+HST. $50 optional transport also available. Please register here.
About Wilderness Union
Wilderness Union is deliberate about building an outdoors community that connects you to the life-changing magic of the outdoors and helps you find your people.
Attendance numbers on Meetup don't reflect our actual event attendance - we typically have 15-20 community members at each event. Large enough that there's someone new to meet but small enough that it's not overwhelming!
Learn more at our website www.wildernessunion.com