Wilderness Experience log BOOK
In Mors Kochanski’s book, the Grand Syllabus, Mors discusses the need to track the progress of growth and development in personal Bushcraft training and education by creating a log of your experiences and skills learned and used throughout your journey. In doing so, he says a person will be able to “keep track of their progress and experience in the bush, knowledge and techniques." He continues to explain that having a proper logbook of experience and skills can substitute for a “certificate” from any Bushcraft entity since there is no actual authoritative body in the Bushcraft community that exists today.
Today, all such professionals function under an honor code while still having the ability to be challenged and evaluated by their peers. So, mind you, if you are ever given a certificate from ANY PERSON, GROUP OR ENTITY of Bushcraft Training, these certificates can all be rejected and challenged by ANYONE in the Survival and Wilderness community. This is because a certificate does not actually prove anything in and of itself without a valid authority, but is honored by many in the Bushcraft survival and wilderness skills community. The truth is though, it is still the actual skill-sets one has that are the real proof of one’s true competence in Bushcraft Survival.
Today, all such professionals function under an honor code while still having the ability to be challenged and evaluated by their peers. So, mind you, if you are ever given a certificate from ANY PERSON, GROUP OR ENTITY of Bushcraft Training, these certificates can all be rejected and challenged by ANYONE in the Survival and Wilderness community. This is because a certificate does not actually prove anything in and of itself without a valid authority, but is honored by many in the Bushcraft survival and wilderness skills community. The truth is though, it is still the actual skill-sets one has that are the real proof of one’s true competence in Bushcraft Survival.
"Certification in survival instruction should be on a voluntary basis. In other words, no one should be forced to become certified in order to 'practice'." -Mors Kochanski Grand Syllabus
"The purpose of certification is to be an incentive to improve the quality and safety of survival training, as opposed to providing professional status or a licensing procedure for employment" The quote comes from the work of Professor Claude Cousineau - University of Ottawa
This is very important to realize since anyone can claim to be a survival skills instructor, yet are self-taught. Now, granted, most people are self-taught in this field and does not technically invalidate anyone. However, because of this issue, people need to prove their competency and mastery before being publicly accepted. If someone says they have the skills and experience, then they should be able to be challenged to prove they indeed have them and can perform them correctly and accurately. This is something Mors lays out in detail in the Grand Syllabus and should not be taken lightly.
"It would be fair to assume that a comprehensive certification system would improve the quality and safety of survival instruction programs. But in the process it could reduce the number of programs run by instructors who do not have the incentive, time or resources to become certified" Mors Kochanski Grand Syllabus
"One should be able to become certified through the processes of challenge without necessarily having to take a formal prescribed course or clinic" Mors Kochanski Grand Syllabus
In doing this, it not only encourages others to go out there and sincerely learn for themselves to master these skills but also encourages learning from those who are well-trained and extremely qualified individuals who can truly mentor others in a professional and safe manner.
-Below is an example of how to create and lay out a public logbook of experiences. By making this logbook public, you are providing the public with the ability to both read and see what skill-sets you have done, how you acquired them, when you acquired them and what learning resources you used in the process, etc.
-Below is an example of how to create and lay out a public logbook of experiences. By making this logbook public, you are providing the public with the ability to both read and see what skill-sets you have done, how you acquired them, when you acquired them and what learning resources you used in the process, etc.
Log entry
Date: When the event occurred...
Weather: What was the weather like that day...
Location: Where the event took place...
Distance Traveled: How far you traveled and why this information was important to document...
Training: What skill-sets were being learned and how were they carried out...
Learning Resources: Where you learned the information and what resources were used...
Events: Things that happened during the training...
Tools: What tools where used and for what...
Experience: What you learned, what was done and what understanding did you gain from this experience.
Comments: This should focus upon things you have encountered and experienced while focusing on points of interest that relate to what you learned and things you found helpful in laying out future areas to use or do.
Notes: This should include pertinent information that applies to the topics listed.
Weather: What was the weather like that day...
Location: Where the event took place...
Distance Traveled: How far you traveled and why this information was important to document...
Training: What skill-sets were being learned and how were they carried out...
Learning Resources: Where you learned the information and what resources were used...
Events: Things that happened during the training...
Tools: What tools where used and for what...
Experience: What you learned, what was done and what understanding did you gain from this experience.
Comments: This should focus upon things you have encountered and experienced while focusing on points of interest that relate to what you learned and things you found helpful in laying out future areas to use or do.
Notes: This should include pertinent information that applies to the topics listed.