Week Long Youth Programs in the Woods

Ancestral Knowledge has two week long youth programs this summer.

Check the dates

The programs are "Woods Wise" and "Wisdom of the Woods." Note: "Woods Wise" is a prerequisite for the more advanced "Wisdom of the Woods" program.

Become "Woods Wise" as we explore our natural surroundings, becoming more comfortable in the wilderness. Our one-of-a-kind nature camp provides an exciting week of adventure and games while we wander through one of our local forests. The participants will learn how to blend and flow within nature while working together in small groups to hone their awareness skills and learn about the natural world. Wandering with no time or destination the campers are guided through experiences that nurture their connection to the earth and allow them to feel at home in the natural world. While in a safe learning environment, with experienced instructors, our participants will learn several ancient practical skills. These skills include: Primitive Pottery, Animal tracking, Lost Proofing, Basic Wilderness Survival, Plant identification, Caretaking, One-match fires, & Much More....

"Wisdom of the Woods" is a wilderness survival workshop. This program is the next step in becoming closer to the earth and all that it offers. This week long day-camp will show you how to use your instincts to survive in the woods as well as give you more advanced skills for long term adventures into the wilderness whether locally or abroad. During this exciting week of discovery you will learn such skills as fire by friction, shelter building, animal tracking, hunting and trapping techniques, wilderness awareness techniques, primitive cooking, pottery, and caretaking of the earth. While building the self esteem, confidence and motivation to be able to survive the elements, these skills will open the doors to a way of life you could only dream of. This is an experience bound to leave you with a new way to approach and experience the great outdoors.

Testimonial: These camps are amazing. "I've been involved with Ancestral Knowledge for a couple years now and every event I've done has been great. My favorite thing to learn at these camps is stalking (walking quietly to sneak up on animals). I think it's really cool to get camouflaged with mud and move without being seen. Now I really love going out in the woods in my back yard and trying to see all the animals that live there." - Sara, Woods Wise Day Camp 2007

See you in the woods...

AK Spring Wild Edibles Class (Meet the Plants)

Comments from a student.

On 10 May, AK students met with AK foraging afictionado "Hue" in Greenbelt Park to discover edible plants and have a few blood seeking tick encounters under a rain threatening sky. The class discovered many edible plants growing in the park and were amazed to also discover that many grew in their own backyards. Hue also brought some Ramps (Allium tricoccum - Wild Leeks) and Japanese Knotweed (Fallopia japonica) pie (yes, it was yummy!) from his recent foraging class in West Virginia the weekend before for us to taste. The Ramp tasted like a cross between an onion and garlic... raw it was powerful, but I think it would be excellent cooked. The Knotweed pie was reminiscent of rhubarb, very tasty. I had wished there was more.

Allium tricoccum, known as ramps, ramson, wild leek, or ail des bois (french), is a member of the onion family (Alliaceae). They are found from the U.S. state of South Carolina to Canada and are especially popular in the cuisine of the US state of West Virginia and the Canadian province of Quebec when they emerge in the springtime. Found in groups with broad, smooth, light green leaves, often with deep purple or burgundy tints on the lower stems and a scallion-like bulb strongly rooted just beneath the surface of the soil. Both the white root and the broad green leaves are edible.

Japanese Knotweed is an invasive plant native to eastern Asia in Japan, China and Korea. The young shoots and stems are edible as a lemony spring vegetable, with a flavor similar to mild rhubarb. In some locations, semi-cultivating Japanese knotweed for food has been used as a means of controlling knotweed populations that invade sensitive wetland areas and drive out the native vegetation. Harvest these hardy plants to the ground and eat them whenever you can. Now worries cause they will return next year.

Among the edible plants we discussed we also found and examined poison hemlock and learned how to distinguish it from other commonly found edible plants in Greenbelt Park; Wild Carrot and Yarrow (fennel looks them most like poison hemlock, but is not found in the park). In ancient Greece, hemlock was used to poison condemned prisoners. The most famous victim of hemlock poisoning is the philosopher Socrates. Sometimes the characteristic red spots found on the stem and branches are referred to as "the blood of Socrates" in reference to his death.

A useful tip to determine whether a plant is poison hemlock rather than wild carrot or fennel, which it resembles, is to crush some leaves and smell the result. Wild carrot smells like carrot and fennel smells like anise or licorice, whereas the smell of poison hemlock is often described as mouse-like or musty. Considering the high toxicity of poison hemlock, if the plant cannot be identified it must be discarded.

All in all, throughout the day we identified and sometimes tasted over thirty wild edible plants. Definitely, we learned so much that I'm not sure I will remember all of it and hope to take the class again next year. I especially liked sampling the cattail shoots. Nice flavor.

The overnight heavy rain was threatening all day with sprinkles once or twice, but it was welcomed weather. The rain kept the ticks on the ground rather than waiting for us on the tail grasses hope to catch a ride when one of us walked by. Ticks have been such a nuisance at the park in recent years because of the high deer population, short mild winters and dry summers. Only after some afternoon sunshine did we begin to have problems with tick... good thing Hue duct taped everyone's pants to their shoes and conducted many tick checks.