Wilberlee Bushcraft
As a special treat for the Wilberlee Year six leavers, Birch Forest Schools provided a bushcraft day on the school site.
After an introductory talk around exactly what the children thought bushcraft was, they came to the conclusion that it was mainly “messing around with sticks”
So we messed around with sticks and carried out that other great bushcraft activity, “making a cup of tea” or in the case of the children a hot chocolate. Along the way they learned how to cooperate and use a bow saw safely; how to split wood using only a sheath knife to prepare Kelly kettle fuel; how to boil water using the Kelly kettle for a hot drink.
Naturally there was a lot of interest in fire making and in the afternoon they looked at the six methods of fire making then used them to light various natural tinders.
The day finished off with a look at the schools woodland area where willow was harvested to make cordage for a memento bracelet.
The children were attentive and enjoyed their day, rushing lunch to return as soon as possible and foregoing break times.