Bushcraft 101: The essence and art of Northern Bushcraft in promoting recreational outdoor participants’ safety

Abstract

Thesis Bushcraft 101 The essence and art of Northern Bushcraft in promoting recreational outdoor participants’ safety

Chris Thompson

ABSTRACT Humak University of Applied Sciences Name of the degree programme: Bachelor’s Degree in Adventure and Outdoor Education Author: Christopher Thompson Title of thesis: Bushcraft 101: The essence and art of Northern Bushcraft in promoting recreational outdoor participants’ safety Number of pages: 35 and 6 pages of appendices Supervisor(s) of the thesis: Anita Saaranen-Kauppinen Commissioner(s) of the thesis: Moln

This thesis aims to explore how and why could the development of core bushcraft survival skills be used in promoting adult learner’s outdoor safety skills. The methodology of this project was to devise and evaluate an introductory bushcraft programme that teaches fundamental core wilder-ness survival skills. The course was designed for the subscriber moln. Moln is a Scandinavian based adventure activity holiday provider owned and operated by Roope Roine. The needs for this programmes development was based on moln’s requirement to adapt to the new increased demands for domestic outdoor adventure holidays in Finland; due to the pandemic situation (Covid- 19, 2020-21) which placed restrictions on international travel. Further needs for this bushcraft course development were based on an emerging market for people who wish to con-nect with nature through undertake their own independent outdoor adventures and want to build their safety awareness and skills. The course was designed using the ADDIE model. This instructional design methodology is built around the steps of analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. The research enquiry and development were supplemented by Interviews with Outdoor experts. The programmes effectiveness in enhancing safety was to be evaluate its by means of running a trail course in the summer of 2020. However, due to the unique circumstances of 2020 caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and accompanied restrictions and regulation about events and gatherings adjustments had to be made so as to ensure safety and legal compliance. The course was therefore evaluated using an expert focus group and a continuous feedback loop with moln´s owner and head guide, Roope Roine. These combined methods provided valuable feedback for the development of the programme into a professional product which would meet the needs of the evolving adventure holiday market. Precise action points for improvements in the course were also identified using a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. This was undertaken individually by adventure education experts from the focus group. The bushcraft fundamentals course programme was designed to be delivered over a 2-night, 3-day, weekend (Friday-Sunday) A more advanced Bushcraft Journey programme was also devel-oped which could also be delivered over 3 days. The outlined course programmes are attached as an appendix. Building and evaluation of the bushcraft fundamentals course brought new knowledge to the field of adventure education in terms of validating bushcraft as a highly effective medium for learning more about outdoor safety. This was due to a number of factors and centers in the power of bush-craft in promoting a sense of reconnection to nature and cultivating a safe working relationship with oneself, others and the environment. Keywords:Safety , Bushcraft , Adventure, Outdoor Recreational, Activity. find 3 to 7 keywords from https://finto.fi/yso/en/