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the Wolf College and

Wolf Journey FAQs:
Frequently Asked Questions

The Wolf College

Wolf Camp

About the Wolf Journey
Summer:
Residential Apprenticeships in Washington State
Earth Skills Training Camps in Washington State

Academic Year:
Cooperative Apprenticeships centered in Western Wa
Earth Skills Training Camps travel to Wa, Ca, Wi, La
Custom Programs for U.S. Businesses & Organizatons
Wolf Journey Classes 7-9 pm all around Western Wa
Weekend Workshops all around Western Wa
Summer:
Kids Day Camps all over Western Wa
Overnight Youth Camps in Washington State

Academic Year:
School Break Camps travel to Wa, Ca, Wi, La
Custom Programs for Schools & Groups around the U.S.

Wolf Journey Classes 4-6 pm in Seattle, Olympia, Puyallup,
Mt. Vernon, Snohomish, Bellingham & Portland/Vancouver

Home and Calendar
Mission and Staff Bios

Application Form, with our whole schedule listed, Driving Directions, Phone Number, and Email

WOLF JOURNEY Program INDEX:

Wolf Journey TESTIMONIALS

Wolf Journey FAQs

Wolf Journey CORRESPONDENCE COURSE

Wolf Journey CLASS SERIES offered in Western WA

PART TWO Intro - Trail of the Tracker
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8

PART THREE Intro - Trail of the Herbalist
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12

PART FOUR Intro - Trail of the Scout
• Chapters TBA

PART FIVE Intro - Trail of the Artisan
• Chapters TBA

PART FIVE Intro - Trail of the Hunter
• Chapters TBA

PART FIVE Intro - Trail of the Pioneer
• Chapters TBA

PART EIGHT Intro - Handbook for Earth Skills Students, Environmental Teachers & Outdoor Leaders
• Journaling Cover Page
• Wildlife Recording Form
• Student Transcripts
• Glossary & Rescources
• Taxonometric Classification
• Outings Guide
• Teaching Guide
• Outdoor Leader Program Policies
• More TBA

Virtual CHALLENGES including Earth Skills Self-Assessment

Print out an Application Form which has the whole schedule listed; or email or call us with questions or to register.

CONFIDENTIALITY:
Wolf Camp does not share its database — period.
COPPAct Notice:
Children 12 and under must obtain parental consent before contacting us.


• The Wolf College SITE MAP
• Wolf Camp SITE MAP
• Wolf Journey SITE MAP
• WOLF Foundation SITE MAP
• Fun Nourishment

Frequently Asked Questions about Wolf Journey

Notes from the author, Chris Chisholm

What are earth skills, and how has it become an independent field of study?

We're currently writing a definition for Wikipedia, and will post that link as soon as it's done. It has several streams of influence, and is related to natural science, outdoor adventure, primitive skills and other genres of experiential environmental education, but to us, it covers a gamut of nature awareness and survival skills, including skills of the naturalist, tracker, herbalist, survival scout, stone age artisan, hunter-gatherer, and sustainable pioneer. In the early years, there was no name for the combination of these skills, and being a former piano teacher, I always wished there was a simple name for them. It just took too long to explain without a simple name, so I advocated the term "earth skills" along with a handful of other people in the field. For insteance, take a look at a guest essay on Earth Skills Education re-printed with permission by Tim Smith, M.Ed.

What is your background, and why did you name your program Wolf Journey?

Start with our staff bios page for some credentials, and feel free to email us to request references spanning decades, but in sum, I grew up in northern Minnesota, playing outside every day of the winter, and spent a lot of summertime outdoors in northern Wisconsin, back when wolves roamed the forest unbeknownst to the general public, or even to its myriad regional hunters. On my parent's cabin property located in the geographic center of the Chequamegon Nat'l Forest (now the Chequamegon-Nicolet NF) we heard the wolves howling when they first showed up, and everyone assumed they were coyotes. Now the acceptance of wolves in the north woods is widespread and fairly well tolerated (unlike out west in the ranch lands), but even during my college years, people still thought wolves were big, bad child eaters. Of course, we now know that healthy wolves don't attack humans, but in the 90s when I started Wolf Camp, the name was a political statement: that wolves were good. Fortunately for them, and for my business, wolves have become very popular and rather revered. I also knew that wolves traveled far and wide in their pursuit of survival, like the archetypical human quest for knowledge, so what better symbol to emulate student progress into nature awareness and wilderness survival? It is a journey, of heart, mind, and soul as well as body.

Why is Wolf Journey free and online?

After several years selling Wolf Journey in bookstores, the printing process became a bit of a chore, and the era of online books and free flow of information arose. Basically, it's much simpler, and of course has the benefit of getting to so many more people geographically and financially. It also has the benefit of directing people to Wolf Camp programs, so it works out fine for us as well. Finally, it's really turned into my life's work, involving original music, songs from my favorite eco-spiritual musicians, artwork from students who have gone on to create amazing projects partially as a result of working through Wolf Journey, stories that are too sacred for me to sell, and field exercises that are based on indigenous cultural knowledge that I don't want appropriate. So feel free to use what I've got here as you like, although we ask that you support the artists and musicians who have graciously allowed us to record their works and whose links can be found next to those works. We also ask that you support us work by attending our programs, hiring us for custom programs in your area, and donating at least $1.00 per chapter or set of recordings you utilize, with checks payable to Wolf Camp, 1026 14th St. SW, Puyallup WA 98371.

When are you going to upload the remainder of Wolf Journey parts?

I was just asking myself the same question. I have drafts of all the parts, but I just don't think they are well-edited enough to post online yet. There's so much work to do running Wolf Camp, that I haven't gotten around to editing Wolf Journey for years. In fact, re-writingn Part Two is my first priority, as Chapter Five isn't what I want, and there has been such incredible progress in the field of human and wildlife tracking over the past few years. That's my first priority, along with editing Part Three so we start attracting more herbalist using the curriculum. So, the answer to my own question came to me: it's a life's work. In the meantime, you can send $5.00 per chapter you don't see posted yet, and I'll email it directly to you. That helps motivate me to edit things which are requested, or at least add comments which should help you through the weaker sections.

What's the history of Wolf Journey and the difference between it and Kamana?

We recommend considering the Kamana Naturalist Training Program through the Wilderness Awareness School which inspired Wolf Journey Part One. Kamana takes naturalist training to a deep level similar to what we guide Wolf Journey Part One students to do in Wolf Journey Part Eight - Handbook for Earth Skills Students, Environmental Teachers & Outdoor Leaders, but Kamana also includes an overt metaphysical component that is wonderful for spiritual people. Please note that Kamana is a naturalist training program, as opposed to a full-scale earth skills curriculum, so you may be introduced to tracking, herbalism, and scouting, but it does not include the full professional tracking, herbal ethnobotany, scout survival, primitive artisanry, hunter-gathering, or sustainable pioneer field exercises of Wolf Journey. In addition, payment for Kamana is compulsory, while Wolf Journey is optional unless you elect to use it as a correspondence course.

It is also important to note the history of Wolf Journey development. I began writing Wolf Journey for two reasons. First, in the initial Kamana years, it cost hundreds of dollars up-front to get the materials, which I paid; and second, when I received it, the text was confusing. Kamana has evolved since then, but at the time, I thought this information should be broadly available, yet simple enough for anyone to grab off the bookstore shelf, go home, and have success completing. I also found that the overt spiritual component, while wonderful and very attractive to many, was also limiting its reach.

Kamana author Jon Young made it clear to me that Kamana was limited to nature awareness, while I was also interested in wilderness survival at the time. So while keeping him up on my progress, I wrote Wolf Journey, not thinking that it might stir up proprietary feelings of competition in his circle. This was the naive attitude I carried with me when I was called down to the Wilderness Awareness School for a meeting after the first edition of Wolf Journey appeared on bookshelves. They felt it was just a simplified version of Kamana, and expressed worry that I might not honor the spirit of its origins, despite many references to Jon Young throughout the book, recommendations that those who wanted to go deeper spiritually sign up for Kamana, and myriad student referrals to the Wilderness Awareness School over the years.

Wolf Journey Part One remains a simplified version of Kamana, which has now been wonderfully updated and whose first sections are now offered by the Wilderness Awareness School very inexpensively. Thomas J. Elpel of the Hollowtop Outdoor Primitive School, Granny's Store and HOPS Press has a nice comparison between Wolf Journey Part One and the Kamana Introduction. Wolf Journey Part One is a simple introduction to a completely comprehensive earth skills curriculum which maintains the benefits of Kamana, but also adds the following unique things:

1. Makes the study of nature available to everyone of nearly any religious or non-spiritual belief system.
2. Makes the study of nature simple, without superfluous information, so that even inner-city dwellers with no backyard, those who don't think they can draw or tell a story, can be successful, while maintaining the integrity of these skills which many hold so sacred.
3. Opens the experience to those without financial means, while still offering correspondence mentoring to those without outdoor elders to guide them at home.
4. Adds music and art to the storytelling approach of education, utilizing MySpace, YouTube, and whatever else may arise online.
5. Maintains the integrity of the "control site" approach to nature study which many hold sacred, while acting as a critical introduction to a more comprehensive earth skills curriculum, including wilderness survival, primitive living skills, herbal medicine and permaculture .
6. Goes beyond nature awareness to offer comprehensive Human & Wildlife Tracking, Wild Edibles & Herbal Studies, Scout Survival, Stone Age Artisanry, Primitive Hunting & Fishing, and Sustainable Pioneer curricula in Wolf Journey Part Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Seven, while Part Eight, the Handbook, allows students to take any and all of these skills to a deeper level of specialization, and trains the outdoor educator with standard policies.

Can I get school or college credit for completing Wolf Journey?

Yes. High School or College Credit is available through a variety of means for your study through Wolf Journey classes or correspondence course. • The most common method is for you to arrange an independent study course through a teacher or professor at your school. Your teacher or professor will sign off on your studies as you progress through the Wolf Journey course, and arrange Natural Science course credits to appear on your high school or college transcripts. • You can also earn an accredited High School diploma through Independence High School, which allows you to study from home and pay for high school credits, earning a diploma based on the work you do in the Wolf Journey course. The Independence High School contact information is www.independent-learning.com or 360-595-2630. • Another option is to enroll in a college which allows you to design your own major, such as Fairhaven College at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA, or Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. Besides your general education requirements and electives at the university, your entire course of study could entail the Wolf Journey course, ending with an earth skills specialization through Wolf Camp and Bachelors Degree at the university. Check out www.ac.wwu.edu/~fhc/ or call 360-650-3680 to have them send you general information on their degree program. • Many universities also allow you to design your own specialty through their Natural Science graduate programs leading to a Masters or Ph.D. Email or call us and we will help you arrange academic credit at your chosen high school or college for your study of Wolf Journey.

Still Not Sure About Starting? Read This!

Have you been thinking about Wolf Journey and been wondering what you’ll be getting out of the experience. Well, everyone who participates exclaims after the first little while: "I had no idea what I was missing in nature, and how great Wolf Journey is!" To give you a few clues, read the next couple paragraphs, and consider for a second the possibility that a whole new world of nature may be hidden from you, no matter how much time you’ve spent outside.

Have you ever wondered what a bird is saying? There are millions of people who enjoy bird watching and can identify many by their songs, but, what happens when we finish our checklist? Do we really know Robin Redbreast? Have we really paid any attention to their beautiful white eye ring, or their individually marked chins. How many of us can pick up a feather and know it’s a robin’s outer tail feather because the inner side is tinged with white, or that he was eaten by a raptor? Can we distinguish between the different individuals in our yards by their voices? Birds don’t just randomly sing. In fact, each bird has a wide range of voices and calls, specific to particular circumstances. If you can understand their language, they will tell you what is happening in nature and your backyard. "Bird watching" will take on a whole new meaning!

Do you have the vague feeling that you hike past much wildlife but rarely see any – the deer hiding in the thicket, the coyote silently watching your every move, or the minutes-old cougar tracks saying she heard you coming? There are millions of people who love hiking, maybe for the exileration of reaching the peak, the breath taking views, or being out in nature with the clean, crisp air. But, learning to have an expanded awareness, far greater than imaginable, and walking invisibly – this is just the beginning to seeing or knowing that those animals are there. You won’t just be "out in nature" anymore, but with nature, developing an understanding and connection with it. Why else do we seek these places if not for these reasons!

Do you walk past the same plants and trees yet not know who they are? We miss so much life around us, not just in nature but everywhere. Plants and trees are one of the most disrespected and overlooked allies we have. Many of our common "weeds" are not just edible and free, but more nutritious than food in stores. There are hundreds of edible plants in our region, many with a tremendous amount of medicinal properties as well. The diverse plant world may seem overwhelming, but learning and utilizing their gifts is actually very attainable. By starting to know the plant kingdom, you will begin to feel safe and at home in nature, even in survival situations.

Do you ever wish you could just leave that gigantic, heavy back-pack at home when you go camping? You can, and your outdoor experience will be greater than you could imagine! Learn how to become comfortable in nature and lighten the burden. Do you secretly miss making forts? Practice warm shelter-making and thatching, harvest wild edibles, prepare medicinal teas, learn primitive cooking methods, delicious recipes, the wonder of fire by friction, amazing in-depth tracking, artisan tool making, primitive hunting, fishing, tanning, plus crafts such as rope making, weaving, and basketry.

Take the next step and begin classes and workshops. Go as deep and as far as you wish. The only requirement is finding your own secret place to visit. You can then choose to start practicing field exercises in Wolf Journey or simply attend weekly classes. Wolf Journey offers a way for modern people to feel comfortable rediscovering skills of the naturalist, tracker, herbalist, scout, hunter and artisan. It is the first course ever written in the field of nature awareness and survival skills which is simple enough for a consumer to purchase off the shelf or through the internet, take home and successfully complete.

Some think you need a degree, others feel that years of "dirt time" are necessary, or that only elders can teach as naturalists. Yet we are all walking along the infinite path of nature, and although some people are further along than others, every person possesses a bit of the knowledge. Classes are a great way to meet others who share your passions, new and old, and we look forward to gathering together. Join us as we discover nature’s mysteries, and you will gain great knowledge and a deeper connection with the natural world.

It’s easy to start. Just print out a registration form, and send it to us, indicating whether you want to come to classes, study by correspondence, or come to an adult camp. Alternatively, call us for a interview at your convenience, and we’ll make sure you have a copy of Wolf Journey to read. Then come to a class, or begin the first field exercise in the book. We’re looking forward to spending time in nature with you.

In the fall we harvest wild edible and medicinal plants and practice primitive cooking methods. In the winter, practice survival skills of shelter construction, water purification, and fire by friction, also honor the animals through primitive hunting ways, and working with animal parts for crafts. In the spring, we track mammals for identification, interpretation, trailing, timing, and ecology, and we interpret bird voices to determine concentric rings of communication in nature. Topics covered during every season throughout the school year include sensory awareness, invisibility, and dexterity in nature, responding to the 8 greatest hazards in nature, and secret place field exercise assignments between classes.

Click on the following to start Wolf Journey on your own or use Wolf Journey as a correspondence course or contact us by phone or email with more questions, including the possibility of coming to one of our courses, or having us come to you.

Any more questions?

Email us and maybe we'll post your queries here!