Everyone who attends an in person class receives
a free elecronic copy of my 831 page plant book.
Living Afield
Training Classes
I believe those who teach survival and living naturally should actually live off the land. The meat my wife and I eat comes from the rabbits, chickens, goats, sheep, and hogs we raise, slaughter, and butcher. In our almost 4000 square foot garden we also grow the vast majority of our produce. To supplement the meat we raise, we also hunt and fish. We spend quite a bit of time afield foraging for and harvesting edible and medicinal plants. We use these for food and medicine.
I have spent the past 50+ years practicing survival, bushcrafting, and living off the land. Living naturally in this manner has provided a lifetime of satisfaction and joy to me and my family. In 2007 I decided it was important to pass on the lifetime of skills I have learned. I started Living Afield LLC, and have not looked back. I have trained literally hundreds of people to live in, and make use of, the natural world.
I strive to provide you with the very best educational opportunities. Whether you want to learn about raising your own food, or making your own medicine, or identifying and harvesting edible and medicinal plants, or wilderness survival & bushcraft, or emergency survival, or winter survival, or primitive survival, Living Afield outdoor training is an excellent way to get in touch with and benefit from the natural world.
Survival & Bushcraft Weekend Class
Knowledge is power!!! Knowing how to make use of the natural world can not only enhance your time in the forest, enhance your daily life, and keep you alive in a survival situation. The confidence that knowledge gives you can make it easier to overcome any adversity you might encounter in your life.
My survival philosophy is a bit different than what you might have seen in the past. Over the past 50+ years I have been practicing survival and living from the land, I have learned one steadfast truth. No matter how hard try, you cannot change the natural world. In order to live a happily and well adjusted in an situation or environment, it si incumbent upon each of us to alter our behavior to adapt the the ever changing natural world. And when you ADAPT you;
Our Bushcraft & Survival Skills Classes are designed for the person who wants to learn how to thrive in the natural world. This weekend class is fun and low key, but packed with learning opportunities. This is not specifically a primitive skills class. You will not be knapping your own stone blades. We practive how to thrive in the wild using a combination of modern gear and bushcraft. You will learn how to select a site for building your camp. You will also learn how to build fire in a number of different ways, how to find and purify water, and how to build snares and deadfalls. You will also learn how to identify and make use of common edible and medicinal plants. We may even make a tincture you can take home with you. We will also discuss basic land navigation techniques.
Come and learn the skills which will give you the confidence necessary to effectively, build or find shelter, build fire, find or make potable water, find wild food, identify edible & medicinal plants, and to navigate effectively... (Learn More & Register For A Bushcraft/Survival Class)
I've spent many years teaching people about plants. The comment I hear most often is "My brain hurts. This was way too much information to try to comprehend." I provide a wealth of information and then fear people may never use it. I think the problem lies neither in the glut of information presented nor not lack of motivation to use the plants. I believe the disconnect lies in the fact that most people learn, not by seeing and hearing, but rather by doing.
With that idea in mind, I created my Plant Deep-Dive Class. When you attend this class, we will meet Saturday morning and spend a good part of the day identifying and discussing myriad plants. This class differs from an average plant walk, in that we will also harvest and prepare plants for our supper Saturday evening. After enjoying a delicious meal, we will process other plants and prepare a relaxing and pain relieving herbal tea which we can then enjoy while sitting around a nice fire. After the fire fades, we will spend the night camping in the picture perfect forests of northern michigan. Sunday morning, we will harvest additional plants, and process them into healthful tinctures.
My hope is that creating a wonderful foraged meal and making highly effective herbal preparations will ignite in you a life-long passion to harvest and use the many edible and medicinal plants that surround us each day...(Learn More & Register For A Plant Deep-Dive Class)
An edible and medicinal plant walk is a leisurely stroll where we talk about various indigenous plants. Because the plants will vary depending upon the time of year, and location of the walk, it is a good idea to attend a couple of walks. We will learn about the world around us from the best teachers available, the plants themselves. I will impart some of the knowledge I have learned over the 40+ years I have made use of plants. I am lucky enough to be still learning today. Please come and learn with me.
During our guided plant walks you get up close, hands on, time with a multitude of edible and medicinal plants. We will discuss botanical names, common names, family names, plant range, growth type, habitat, edibility, medicinal uses, and medicinal safety.
Our walks are held in areas rich in plant life. You will learn how to identify some of the most common and most important edible and medicinal plants. Come and learn how to make use of the plants that surround us...(Learn More & Register For A Plant Walk)
Safe, effective, inexpensive, plant based medicines are excellent insurance against everything happening in the world today.
Each of us has heard and read the stories about the toxic side effects of pharmaceutical drugs. Over 100,000 people die each year from prescription drugs. Learning to make your own safe, effective, medicines from the plants that surround us each day can be a boon to your health...(Learn More & Register For A Medicine Making Class)
Some of my fondest memories are spending time in the forest with my friends. We enjoyed countless hours crafting bows and arrows and pretending we were hunting; building shelters (forts); trying to identify plants; fishing, and revelling in the forests of our beautiful state.
These activities sparked a love of the natural world in me that I want to pass on to younger generations. I believe the best way to preserve the natural world is to nurture a love of the outdoors in our children. This is why it is so important to me to teach classes like these....(Learn More & Register For The Free Class)
From weather disasters and civil unrest to global pandemics, our world is in flux more today than at any time in recent history. The current state of affairs can make even the most stalwart soul feel apprehansive about the future.
Knowledge is power!!!
My Emergency Survival Skills Classes are designed for the person who wants to learn how to survive an emergency situation. Many people build a B.O.B. or bug-out-bag. The problem arises from the fact that few people actually practice how to use the contents of their BOB. This weekend class is designed to help you learn to become proficient at using your bug out bag...Come and learn the skills which will give you the confidence necessary to effectively survive an emergency situation...
(Learn More & Register For An Emercency Survival Class)
If you cannot make it to our guided plants walks, you can try our online virtual plant walks. Each individual plant video walks you through the physical characteristics of the plant, it's range, where it likes to grow, how it can be used edibly and medicinally, and any toxic look alikes, or possible drug interactions...(Learn More)
Gift certificates are available for each of our classes. They make excellent presents, and are a great way to lock in future training at current prices.