Start your training in wildlife tracking, bird & animal communication, wilderness survival, foraging, and other essential outdoor skills.
When you join you'll get:
1) Weekly video lessons in each week of the above naturalist topics
3) Access to the Naturalist Speak Community where you can post your own photos/videos
Program Topics:
Wildlife Tracks & Sign
Knowing how to recognize animal tracks and sign is key to understanding the wildlife that is in the area, including perceiving what it was doing and when it was there, and how to find (or avoid) it. Just as indigenous peoples are taught at a young age how to interpret the clues left behind by animals, you too will learn the skills to be able to confidently identify, age, and follow a wide variety of mammal, bird, reptile, and amphibian tracks and trails through:
- Understanding track morphology, features, and characteristics
- Reading gaits and interpreting associated behaviors
- Aging tracks and sign
- Following animal paths and trailing wildlife
- Interpreting scat and pellet, and predation remains
- Recognizing other animal sign like feeding, bedding, marking etc.
Bird Language & Animal Communication
People of virtually every hunter-gatherer culture understood the meaning behind songbird vocalizations and other communications, and how to tune into the messages that were being broadcast about what was happening on the landscape around them. You will learn how to increase your situational awareness through interpreting the meaning behind what birds and other animals are ‘saying’ by:
- Knowing how to distinguish between baseline and non-baseline behaviors
- Deciphering alarm calls and identifying potential aerial threats
- Identifying the whereabouts and movements of dangerous ground predators
- Understanding methods to conceal your presence while hunting and get close to wildlife
- Recognizing the true nature of silence in the forest and how to use that to your advantage
- Interpreting the communication web that exists between all animals
Wilderness Survival
Learning essential survival skills is necessary to dealing with emergency situations in the outdoors that could threaten your safety and those with you. Like the famous scouts, pioneers, and mountain men of of the past who old had an intimate knowledge of the natural world that allowed them to subsist on the land and thrive in hostile conditions, you'll learn a variety of techniques that will enable you to handle adversity whether it happens on a nearby hiking trail or deep in remote country including:
- Avoiding dangerous survival situations
- Starting fire, finding/purifying water, and building emergency shelters
- Navigating using a compass and topographical map
- Getting lost and methods for finding your way out or signaling for rescue
- Staying warm and avoiding heat exhausting/ dehydration
- Making cordage, tying knots, and using a knife
Foraging for Wild Plants
Eating 'off-the-land' entails a lot more than just finding a few leafy greens that are edible or locating some ripe fruit; a true naturalist knows the ins and outs of getting access to plant resources that are available at their fingertips when they need them. You'll learn to avail yourself of nutritious wild foods present in your own back yard, nearby green space, or wilderness by:
- Learning the most essential staple foods indigenous people relied upon
- Knowing correct habitats to locate desired species
- Identifying plants using appropriate characteristics/keys
- Avoiding dangerous lookalikes that are poisonous
- Recognizing what time of year to harvest particular species
- Understanding steps required in processing what you bring home
Other Skills
A well-rounded naturalist draws upon a wide array of skills that he or she can call upon as the situation demands. There is no limit to the amount of useful knowledge that can be acquired, and hence some additional topics that may be referenced during weekly lessons (among others) include:
- Selecting backcountry gear and clothing recommendations
- Setting up campsites and choosing overnight locations
- Predicting the weather based on 'in-the-field' observations
- Maintaining your physical health and well-being in remote country
- Keeping a positive attitude and good psychology when things go wrong
- Performing sense meditations & other routines that enhance your outdoor experiences
Don't Forget Our Ironclad Guarantee: You Have 30 Days After Your Membership Starts to Ask For a Refund...No Questions Asked!
Customer satisfaction guaranteed! As a small family-owned business, our online offerings are our livelihood. We put all of our energy into making sure our students get the best education and experience possible, and your satisfaction is our #1 priority. If you don't enjoy the course for any reason, you can get a full refund in the first 30 days without any hassle. That being said, we're sure you're going to like it :-)
