Today was the start of our crafting guilds. These 4-week focused morning sessions give everyone an opportunity to really get into a craft/skill and follow it through to a completed stage.
Today we had kids learning one of the oldest hunting methods, sling, accompanied with historical stories of their use around the world and fun games to learn how to use them. We also had folks wandering and gathering materials for both natural ink and paint and tinder materials.
Burned bowls got started using some fine-looking basswood logs, and bushcraft stools got their first leg fixed in place! Lastly, we had a group boiling down black walnut husks for tie-dyeing next week. They even ate a few nuts along the way.
Next week, kids in the walnut dye guild will need some items to dye. White T-shirts, other white apparel, bandanas, and socks all are fine for this project.
The ink and paint guild will need a lot of material for their projects so if anyone wants to bring in a bunch of natural color making material from home, they will use it!
After guilds, we all met up for a great afternoon of running through the forest in a big game of Capture the Flag.
—Dan and the FOREST staff, October 18, 2023