This weekend we begin our 26th semester program. Today I’m packing up the truck and canoe trailer. Tonight I’ll be watching my kids perform in a play, and tomorrow I’ll be heading to the field school. It will be a challenging beginning to the course because the dirt road in from the pavement is still covered with waist-deep snow. There’s no plowing it on account of it being so heavy and wet, so we’ll have to wait for it to melt before attempting to drive in. Until then, we’ll be walking. This is a big headache, but the staff at the field school think we’ll be able to get down it sometime during the first week.

New This Spring
This spring we’re adding two people to our field school staff. First, Will Cutler (known to many of you as Big Fish) will be our farm and garden manager. He’ll be working on getting the field school up and running as a food producer. We’re planting a bunch of perennial fruits and vegetables, as well as an annual vegetable garden. It’s likely that we’ll also be adding a flock of chickens.

Shawn Sprague will be working as an instructor and as our video production coordinator. We’ve talked about expanding our video production role for years, and we’re excited to finally take the leap.

Open Spots For The Fall Wilderness Bushcraft Semester
Currently we’ve still got four open spots for the semester starting in late August of this year. I’ve spoke with a lot of interested people about the course, so if you want one of the spots you should probably act soon.

Wilderness Bushcraft Semester Changes For 2015
In 2015 we’ll be making a few changes to the program. First, up to this point we’ve held the maximum number of students at 10, but next year we’re increasing it to 12. We also will see the first tuition increase in many years, but it’s needed to keep up with the growing cost of insurance. Third, we may be extending the program by a week (to ten). No definitive word on this until we’re able to have a staff meeting in the Guide Shack with lots of strong coffee, but it’s something I’ve been mulling over for a few years. I want to add more time on the river to the program, and I think the best way to do so without cutting any aspect of the program is to add a week.

I’m excited to get the semester started, to meet all the new students, and to get back to the simple routines of field school life.

If you want more information about our semester class, find it at The Wilderness Bushcraft Semester.