Adult Nature Classes
Winter/Spring 2012
Piedmont Wildlife Center’s weekend classes explore natural history, survival skills and aboriginal studies with a focus on the Piedmont area. Our weekend programs are adult oriented but we welcome people of all ages who have a deep interest in learning.
Registration and Program Details are listed at the bottom of the page. Jump there now.
Fireside Storyteller
Friday, January 6th
6:30pm – 8:30pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
Before television and radio and the Internet, people of all walks of life gathered around the fire to share stories. Now, storytelling is a lost art and gathering beside the fire is a forgotten tradition. Join us in the evening beside the council oak as we bring stories back to life. In the settling darkness, by the glow of the fire, we will share tales from around the world. We will fill the night with tales of mystery, inspiration, and imagination. We will blend native stories, modern stories, stories of the natural world and stories from the human world. (Suitable for both adults and children.)
Survival!: Shelter
Sunday, January 8th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Click here for class description.
Owl Prowl
RESCHEDULED from Jan 13 to Jan 20
Friday, January 20th
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
Local owls have paired back up with their mate and are putting the finishing touches on their nests to get ready for their new family. Come to the Mason Farm Biological Reserve to listen and look for signs of screech, barred, and great horned owls. You will have the chance to see live owls up close! You’ll also learn why owls are so important to the environment and what you can do to help protect them. We’ll try several owl calls to see if we can get any wild owls to come check us out and call back. This program is co-sponsored by the NC Botanical Garden. (The Mason Farm Reserve is normally only open from dawn to dusk so this is a special opportunity for you to visit the preserve at night!)
Winter Tree ID
Saturday, January 14th
10:00am – 12:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
Winter is a wonderful time to learn to identify trees! Some of the most important signs to help us know the trees and shrubs are even more apparent at this time of year. We will walk through the forest and examine budscales, leaf scars, lenticels, branch structure and bark. Walk away with the skills to know the trees in your backyard and beyond.
Survival!: Water
Sunday, January 15th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Click here for class description.
Survival!: Fire
Sunday, January 22nd
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Click here for class description.
Natural Mystery and Meditation – with guest instructor Andrew Ozinskas
RESCHEDULED From January 28th to February 17
Friday, February 17th
6:00pm – 10:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
In this class, we will work on deepening concentration, honing focus, and sharpening the minds eye. We will use nature as a guide in the process of meditation. This class features a thorough exploration of grounding, beginning practice of self-healing in meditative states and basic approaches of journey work with and without a drum. This class is based on traditional practices and wisdom from across the world. It is an opportunity to learn with one of our most respected regional instructors and to develop a deep and powerful personal awareness.
Survival!: Food
Sunday, January 29th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Click here for class description.
Winter Herbal Medicine Intensive – with guest instructor Andrew Ozinskas
RESCHEDULED From January 29th to February 18th
February 18th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Join us for a wildcrafting walk to meet some of the local plants that we can harvest and use for winter medicine. Sample handmade tinctures and other products created from these local wild plants. We will also prepare a medicinal tincture of black cherry bark for each person to bring home. A central theme of this intensive will be a discussion on using herbs to maintain vibrant health through the winter season. We will explore the prevention and treatment of conditions such as colds and flus, lymphatic congestion, viruses, seasonal mood disorders, digestive problems and other winter health concerns. We will also spend time sharing general techniques and philosophy of herbal medicine, including constitutional analysis based on the four elements. This is a unique and highly recommended class for anyone interested in herbal studies.
Our guest instructor is a professional wildcrafter and clinical herbalist who combines traditions of Appalachian Folk medicine and European Alchemy with modern clinical research, botany and phytochemistry.
Colonial & Modern Campfire Cooking
Saturday, February 4th
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
One of the secrets of outdoor cooking is that everything that can be cooked in a modern kitchen can be cooked just as well in the wild! Learn techniques from Dutch oven cooking to reflective toasters. Discover how to bake breads, pies, cobblers and other treats as it was done in the backwoods of the Piedmont generations ago. Learn how to set up a T-stick, lash a tripod, build a rocket stove and create other tools for campfire cooking. Find out how to build a comfortable outdoor kitchen and how to tend a fire for optimal cooking conditions. Best of all, bake your own biscuits and taste some of our fire baked treats .
Owl Prowl –FULL! Registration Closed–
Friday, February 10th
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
Local owls have paired back up with their mate and are putting the finishing touches on their nests to get ready for their new family. Come to the Mason Farm Biological Reserve to listen and look for signs of screech, barred, and great horned owls. You will have the chance to see live owls up close! You’ll also learn why owls are so important to the environment and what you can do to help protect them. We’ll try several owl calls to see if we can get any wild owls to come check us out and call back. This program is co-sponsored by the NC Botanical Garden. (The Mason Farm Reserve is normally only open from dawn to dusk so this is a special opportunity for you to visit the preserve at night!)
Native Weapons, Traps, & Tools
Saturday, February 11th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
In this special four-hour field workshop, we will explore the hunting skills of the native people of the Piedmont. Try your hand with a primitive bow and arrow, a blowgun, fire-hardened spears, an atl-atl (spear thrower), a primitive sling, sapling spring traps, deadfall traps, and more! This is an adult themed workshop but people of all ages are welcome. We especially encourage people with an interest in earth skills to join us.
Beyond Tracking 1: Spirit
Cancelled
Sunday, February 12th
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
Click here for class description.
Roadkill: The Original Fast Food! – Immersion
Saturday, February 18th
10:00am – 4:00pm
Immersion: $30 members / $35 non-members
Come immerse yourself in roadkill for 6 wonderful hours bursting with goodness! We’ll get into the guts of this untapped resource and learn about the many things we can do with roadkill, like compiling a hair and skull collection for our naturalist studies, hide-tanning to make clothes, learning how to tell if meat is still good, and possibly getting to try some new delicacies. Sadly, many animals are killed in our mad rush to go further and faster. Let’s take some time to honor these lives and learn what we can from them. Embrace your backwoods heritage and join us for a big, steaming pile of fun!
Nature Awareness 1: Beginning the Connection
Sunday, February 19th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Click here for class description.
Beyond Tracking 2: Substrate Study
Sunday, February 26th
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
Click here for class description.
Nature Awareness 2: Cultivating Focus
Sunday, March 4th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Click here for class description.
Fire-Hardened Spears
Saturday, March 10th
10:00am – 12:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
In the 1990s, an archaeological find in Germany stunned the world. Three fire-hardened wooden spears were uncovered, dating back almost 400,000 years. Likely used by Homo heidelbergensis, one of the many archaic species of humans who lived during the Pleistocene, these spears are easy to manufacture, and can be quite powerful against large game animals in a survival setting. In this two-hour class, we will use stone tools to fell trees, and then we will use the power of fire to shape and harden their points. Afterwards, we will practice throwing the spears, with and without the use of a leather javelin strap known as an amentum.
Beyond Tracking 3: Techniques of Tracking
Sunday, March 11th
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
Click here for class description.
Art of Stonecraft
Saturday, March 17th
11:00am – 5:00pm
Immersion: $30 members / $35 non-members
This class is divided into two parts. The first part will cover an introduction to flintknapping and the second part will cover abrasive techniques known as pecking and grinding. We encourage everyone to stay for the entire immersion for instruction on many aspects of stonecraft but if you can’t come for the full class, people are welcome to attend one three hour section or the other. Flintknapping: We will introduce people to some of the theories and techniques used to shape stones into such tools as arrowheads, axes, knives and spear points. We will also start training our eyes to be able to read the stones and see the tools hidden within. Pecking and grinding: We will focus on grinding and polishing techniques to make stone gorgets and pendants, nutting stones and other ground and/or polished stone implements. This is a hands-on class with projects to take home.
Nature Awareness 3: Deepening Our Experience
Sunday, March 18th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Click here for class description.
Spring Ecology
Saturday, March 24th
12:00pm – 2:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
Join us for a walk in the vernal woods as Mother Nature reawakens. This is one of the most abundant seasons of the year for wildlife. Everything is transforming! The spring ephemeral wildflowers are returning. Some migratory birds are departing for the north while others are just coming home. This is the most active time of year for amphibians such as salamanders and tree frogs; they are singing and dancing late into the night! Insects and mushrooms are thriving again with the warm spring weather. The behaviors and track patterns of birds and mammals are changing with the seasons as well. This weekend adventure will give you front row seats for observing and understanding the many lesser known mysteries of nature that occur during the transformation from winter to spring!
Beyond Tracking 4: Coyote Teaching
Sunday, March 25th
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
Click here for class description.
Nature Awareness 4: Reflection
Sunday, April 1st
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Click here for class description.
Bark Baskets
Saturday, April 7th
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
Learn how to make a small poplar bark basket or “huckle bucket”. This is a useful and beautiful old fashioned Appalachian craft. It is a folded bark container that is sewn up with smooth strips of hickory bark. Bring home this unique basket and the skills to make more!
Edible Plants
Saturday, April 14th
2:00pm – 4:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
Ever tasted the leaves of Meadow Beauty? Ever tried the fruit of the pickerelweed? Every season brings a different bounty of wild foods to harvest. In this class, we will delve into the wild tastes of fall. We will experience a number of the edible wildflowers, berries, fruits, shrubs and trees that are common to the Piedmont. We will gather and prepare a small feast from the landscape around us and celebrate the diversity of our local edible plants.
Wild Botany 1: Botany in 4 Hours
Sunday, April 15th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Click here for class description.
Bird Language
Saturday, April 21st
9:00am – 1:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
The Phone Lines of the Forest. This intensive will focus on birds, but not on species or calls as much as understanding their language. We’ll learn how to read their voices for clues about what’s happening in the forest, how to recognize a concentric ring and interpret its cause. We’ll learn the 4 calm voices of the birds as well as what a bird alarm sounds like and how its shape and character changes depending on the reason for the alarm. This intensive will change the way you relate to the world. Join me for this fascinating foray into advanced awareness.
Atlatl and Dart
Saturday, April 28th
10:00am – 12:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
Before the bow and arrow became the primary hunting weapon amongst humans, the atlatl and dart reigned supreme. Some cultures around the world still use this potent weapons system to hunt game and to defend themselves. In this class, we will learn how to construct a simple branch atlatl, and we will study the proper materials for making darts. Then, we’ll get some range time in, throwing atlatl darts with our hand-made atlatls in the hopes of bringing home a little woolly mammoth for the dinner table.
Wild Botany 2: Experiential Botany
Sunday, April 29th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Click here for class description.
Primitive Fishing
Saturday, May 5th
9:00am – 1:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Come out to a morning of fishing on a late spring morning. This intensive will focus on methods of survival and primitive fishing, including making our own fishing line and leaders, bone gorge hooks, thorn hooks, fish traps, fish spears, and more. We’ll start early to greet the morning (and the fish) and learn what we can about the plants and animals around the water as we try different ways of “catching the Big One.” Bring a picnic and a blanket if you’d like.
Wild Clay Part I: Creation
Sunday, May 6th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
This is a two-part class where we will make and fire a primitive clay pot using only natural materials gathered from the wild. Our first class will focus on processing clay to make it workable, and using hand techniques to shape traditional pots, bowls, beads, or other items. In our second class, we will fire the clay in a pit fire to complete the process. Help prepare the fire, tend it and then take home a naturally crafted burnished clay pot that you created from start to finish.
Wild Botany 3: Ethnobotany
Sunday, May 13th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Click here for class description.
Wild Basketry
Saturday, May 19th
9:00am – 1:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Join us to learn as much about the art of wild basket-weaving as we can fit into four hours. This intensive is designed for those who have never made a basket before, as well as those who have made several baskets in the past. We will share “melon” or “egg” baskets, pine needle baskets and coil baskets, spoke baskets and more. We will also make and use natural dyes for basket reeds. Join us to discover which vines and other basket materials are available here in the Piedmont forests, how to gather them and how to make four different baskets from start to finish.
Wild Clay Part II: Firing
Sunday, May 20th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
In our second class, we will fire the clay in a pit fire to complete the process. Help prepare the fire, tend it and then take home a naturally crafted burnished clay pot that you created from start to finish.
Intro to Slings
Saturday, May 26th
10:00am – 12:00pm
Class: $10 members / $15 non-members
The sling is one of mankind’s oldest weapons, dating back at least to the early Neolithic. They have served as a weapon for hunting, warfare, and self-defense, and have been used by the humblest shepherds and the richest of kings. This two-hour class will introduce participants to the use of the sling. Several different styles of slinging will be highlighted, including the horizontal, or helicopter, style, the overhand style, the underhand style, and the Byzantine style. Each participant will be provided with their very own hand-made braided split-pouch sling which they can take home.
Wild Botany 4: Beyond the Basics
Sunday, May 27th
1:00pm – 5:00pm
Intensive: $20 members / $25 non-members
Click here for class description.
Details for all Weekend Nature Programs
–> Click here to register online. You can pay when you register or send a check by mail. <–
Pre-registration is highly recommended for all weekend programs. Drop-ins are also welcome if the program is not already full. Make sure to check on this web page before coming on the day of the program in case of class updates or cancellations. Updates will be posted alongside the course descriptions for each course.
Fees:
- 2-hour classes are $15 for one adult and $10 for each additional family member.These classes are designed to share new experiences and explore new skills.
- 4-hour intensives are $25 for one adult and $20 for each additional family member. These intensives go deeper and more in depth into each skill.
- 6-hour immersions are $35 for one adult and $30 for each additional family member. We are introducing these 6-hour immersions to allow us to dive in and fully experience the subjects. In our immersions, we bring lunches and share the day together, deepening our skills and our community.
Some scholarship opportunities available
Directions:
All weekend programs take place at Leigh Farm Park in Durham except for the Owl Prowls, which take place at Mason Farm Reserve in Chapel Hill (Mason Farm is also accessible by entering “100 Old Mason Farm Road” in most GPS units). Enter the parking lot for Finley Golf Course Clubhouse off of Old Mason Farm Road, or Finley Golf Course Road (it’s the corner where they merge) – we will meet at the back of that parking lot and proceed into the preserve from there.
If you would like to join our email listserv for the nature series programs, please send us your contact information, and we will email you an announcement when each program season is ready to begin.
Sneak preview of next season’s classes (Fall 2012)
- Wildlife Gardening
- Women in the Wilderness- a series sharing outdoor skills and natural remedies specifically for women
- Leather working
- Bonecrafting- Making bone tools and other implements
If you have topics to request, please let us know!
