Survival Skills Class with Christopher Nyerges

This weekend I attended a class taught by Christopher Nyerges, urban/wilderness survival expert and author of the book "Extreme Simplicity, Homesteading in the City." It was the second class taught by Christoper that I have attended. I will be back again.

At the outset we collected wood from mule-fat, willow and cotton wood to use as drills for match-less fire starting. Over the course of the outing we identified many wild plants, discussed their dietary, medicinal or other values. Among the edible plants we collected was purslane (pictured) which is said to be the highest plant source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Any vegetarians who are sick of flax seed oil may want to get to know purslane (pictured).


We also made cord from fibers harvested from yucca plant. I was by far the worst in the class at twining the cord but still took great pleasure and pride in making this 18 or so inch piece of yucca rope. It is surprisingly strong.



Unfortunately I had to leave early to watch our children while Julia fulfilled her own obligations. Having been to a previous class I am pretty sure that a fire or fires were started by hand using several methods, and nutritious wild foods were consumed with great delight.

I highly recommend Christopher's classes. They are fun and you can really learn a lot.

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