Frontier Bushcraft: What's In A Name?

Dear {NAME}, Thanks again for recently signing up for the Frontier Bushcraft Newsletter. One thing we are consistently asked is how did we decide upon Frontier Bushcraft as a name for our bushcraft school? If you look up 'frontier' in the dictionary, you'll see it has various meanings. Two of the main definitions capture important aspects of how we envisioned our school. Frontier as the border between civilisation and wilderness Popularly, a frontier has come to mean a region at the edge of a settled area or the boundary zone between civilisation and wilderness. We see the skills we teach sitting between the modern 'civilised' world and the indigenous skills and knowledge of those living close to the land. Some of these are the old skills of our ancestors that allowed us to live naturally in, and as part of, what we would now term wilderness. On our courses we teach an extensive knowledge of nature's resources to enable you to achieve a great deal with only a little equipment. Ultimately bushcraft skills support travelling with confidence - and living in - wild places for as long as you wish to be there. So, we see the learning of bushcraft skills as a path to a larger world, as a way to transition from comfortably living your daily life to being at home in wild places too. It's our view that you can be a modern human yet still have a foot in both worlds. Learning bushcraft enables travel across the boundary from modern life into the wilds and a more basic form of existence. When you get there you are able to employ your skills and knowledge, rather being dependent on a life-support system of modern equipment. Being freed from this "bubble", as some call it, and living closer to nature is very liberating. And we fully acknowledge that how you define 'wild' is a personal thing; one person's wilderness is another person's backyard. Our aim is to equip people with skills and knowledge for the wild places they wish to visit. Frontier as the limit of attainment in a subject A frontier can also be the boundary between the known and the unknown. One of the allures of bushcraft is that there is always more to learn. Bushcraft is ultimately a study of nature and nature is incredibly large and complex. Even though we already teach bushcraft at a high level, Frontier Bushcraft's instructional team is always learning. If nothing else, remembering this provides a grounding humility. At Frontier Bushcraft we simply aim to teach what we know and push the boundaries of our own knowledge further. In this way, if we can also push the boundaries of the sphere of knowledge that is included in bushcraft, then we can all benefit from this. We also aim to be at the forefront of how bushcraft training is delivered, providing the highest quality of instruction. It's not enough for our team to have the skills you would like to learn, they must be great teachers too. Our course and expedition leaders are all professional outdoors people and educators. The quality of the instruction, guidance, encouragement and leadership you receive on our courses and expeditions is very important to us. We have a policy of employing those who have made a career in the great outdoors and enabling other's enjoyment of it. Our aim is to deliver what we teach in the most accessible, clear, memorable and enjoyable way possible. So, for us there is a lot riding on being called Frontier Bushcraft. The name 'Frontier Bushcraft' really does encapsulate our commitment to being at the forefront of passing on bushcraft skills and knowledge. That's probably a longer answer than most people expect when they ask "so why did you decide to call it Frontier Bushcraft"? But we hope you found it interesting and thanks for reading! All the best, Paul Kirtley & The Frontier Bushcraft Team [www.frontierbushcraft.com]( Other ways to connect with and follow Frontier Bushcraft: [( [( . FRONTIER BUSHCRAFT Ltd, PO Box 68161, London, N1 2DB, United Kingdom [Unsubscribe]( [Change subscriber options](