Posted on: June 5th 2015
On Tuesday 12th of May we went to Bushcraft. It was an amazing experience. On the first day we sat under the Yurt (this is a shelter by the campfire) and we met our camp leaders: Leo, Lorrie, Rachel and our cook Sarah. We first got into groups called tribes, and within our tribes we came up with names for them. One was called The Basilisks and the other Scorpia. We made flags, shelters and a backstory of how our tribe came about. The tents we slept in were crawling with spiders, but luckily it wasn’t that bad as soon as you got used to them!
The food that we ate was absolutely marvellous and it consisted of pasta bolognese, beef fajitas, goat curry, apple crumble, American pancakes and lots of other lovely dishes. During our fantastic four days we did archery, this was not as easy as it looked! We went on beautiful nature walks where we also played a game called Predator and some people even slept in shelters outside in the freezing cold! We also roasted marshmallows and drank hot chocolate by the campfire. It was a sensational experience!
Bushcraft is inspiring, creative fun; it’s amazing for children to enjoy and experience the world outdoors.
Written by Grace Ferrari Callaghan
On Tuesday 12th May, Forms 5 and 6 set off on an adventure in the wilderness that we will never forget, AKA Bushcraft! When we arrived we were so excited and after a brief welcome by our instructors Laurie and Rachel and our awesome cook, Sarah, it was at last time for our first task.
We were split into our two tribes and were asked to create a war dance, a flag and a back story about the history of our tribe and how it was formed. In the end we came up with the tribal names of Scorpia and Basilisks.
Afterwards, we went about collecting sticks long enough to build a shelter. That’s right, you’ve got it…shelter building! Apparently the best type of tree to build a shelter under is one where you can get your arms around the trunk when you hug it. If it is any bigger than this any branches that fall off due to wind would be dangerous. We learned that to make the shelter warm and compact you should cover it with leaves, moss and grass and don’t make it too spacious. In the end both shelters were very successful and would have kept us protected from the elements.
By the time we got back Sarah had already prepared a yummy lunch of beef fajitas and they were delicious! After that we explored our teepee tents and we prepared for the night by laying out our sleeping bags. When everyone was out of their tents we went for a nature walk where we saw amazing trees and the oldest tree in the forest which was massive.
By Eleanor, Alice, Marissa and Leela
On our residential trip to Bushcraft we faced many challenges, none of which were easy! Day one involved building shelters and an interesting nature walk and on our second day, after being woken with a delicious English breakfast, we went down to the freezing lake. Many of us were brave and we plunged in with the support and cheers of our friends.
After the long trek back to camp, we sat in the yurt and talked about the different ways in which you can build and start a fire. We then split up into our tribes and took it in turns to try and light the fire we had built. Once that was done we cooked our kebabs over the hot fires. That evening we had a choice of where to sleep, either in a tent or outside in the shelter.
By Elliot and Jack
During Bushcraft, we worked collaboratively in a team and we got to know the Form 6’s better and made closer friendships. Our favourite activity was the Bushcraft Challenge because we had to remember all of the skills we learnt throughout the trip and show we had been listening carefully. We had an amazing adventure!
By Oliver, Roman and Bruno
