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Last updated 16/04/08
 Ben was commissioned to write a four page article featuring low-tech bushcraft equipment and expedition kit for the March edition of Geographical Magazine, click here to read it.
Geographical: What's the one piece of kit that you wouldn't be without?
Ben: My knife. As a mammal, we are the only apex predator without natural weapons. No
horns, fangs or claws – only our intellect and our ability to shape the
environment. Our species has literally carved a niche in this world
using a knife and an axe, ever since one of our distant Homo habilis
ancestors struck two stones together and made the first functional
blade. I think it’s great that our high-tech lifestyles and attitudes
have been defined by a broken rock… although personally I prefer my
steel blade. With a knife and knowledge you can make everything you need – tools, traps, clothing, shelter…
 Ben and Lisa have been busy overseas this winter, and have recently returned from the awe-inspiring winter wonderland of the Maine North Woods, which has just had one of its harshest winters in years. They had a fantastic experience, both learning and employing the traditional winter travelling skills of the North Woods. Ben and Lisa spent most of their stay in a canvas walled tent at well down the zero’s whilst acquiring many valuable trail skills such as reading ice for safety. In addition they learned about how to make their own outfit using time-tested methods; they prepared their own traditional Cree toboggan, Ojibwa snowshoes and winter clothing such as mukluks and hide/canvas mittens worn by the natives of Labrador. Thanks to Garret and Alexandra Conover, who taught them so much about winter living and trail skills.
 We are currently making plans to launch a winter skills expedition next year, in conjunction with North Woods Ways. We are also really excited to be working with the founders of North Woods Ways - Garrett and Alexandra Conover. In addition to being inspiring company, they are renowned Maine Guides and internationally recognised experts in traditional winter travel skills. The Conover’s are also respected authors, having written some of the most authoritative and valuable books on wilderness travel, including Beyond the Paddle and the Snow Walker's Companion.
The planned two-week expedition will involve learning classic winter survival skills and snow tracking, whilst  undertaking a 10-day snowshoeing journey, using traditional clothing and equipment, pulling your gear on toboggans through the unspoiled wilderness of Northern Maine. The proposed date will be late January to early February next year to guarantee pristine snow conditions. Accommodation will be in wood-heated canvas tents. The days will be spent trekking through breathtaking scenery, and the nights enjoying classic pioneer trail food, good company and watching the aurora borealis. This trip is still in the early planning phases, but promises to be a really special expedition.
If you think you would like to join us on the winter trail, please send us an email to register your interest.
 Steve Smith has just re-styled and re-launched his ‘Open River Canoe Adventures’ website, you can find it here. The new site is packed full of photos, course details and trip reports from Steve’s recent adventures.
 Steve is just back from Lake Malawi, where his party encountered elephants, crocodiles, hippos, storms, 6 ft swells, malaria, scorpions, snakes and parasitic worms – as well as crystal clear waters, full of beautiful tropical fish, picture-perfect sandy beaches, and spectacular thunderstorms. Summing up his most recent trip, he says, “Lake Malawi really is quite something. It encompasses the raw wilds of Africa with dream-like paddling environments.”
Dr. Stephen Quilley of the One Planet Institute project is currently researching possibilities for constructing a new academic program in Bushcraft Studies. If you are interested in the proposed MSc Bustcraft Studies please take a look here and register your initial interest. You may also email him directly at s.quilley@pol.keele.ac.uk
  
WE have added a new 'Reviews' page to the website. Matt and Steve have already added a couple of book reviews. To read them, click here.
 If you would like to challenge your bushcraft knowledge, we have devised a short quiz, based on natural history and wilderness skills. You can download it as a PDF here.
Answers can be found here.
 Back Off Badgers!
The
RSPCA is reacting with horror and disbelief to the muddled suggestion
by a select committee of MPs that badger-culling might help reduce
cattle tuberculosis (TB) in some areas. Help by signing the petition before the government makes the decision to proceed with a mass slaughter of one of Britain's most loved mammals.
"Any attempt at badger-culling flies in the face of sound scientific judgement," says John Rolls, the RSPCA's director of animal welfare promotion.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (Defra) public consultation on badger-culling prompted a record 47,472 responses, 95% of which opposed a cull.
 Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has launched a national campaign, called Chicken Out! Part of it is the new TV series on Channel 4, which will help you to understand the conditions in which most table birds are reared, and to put pressure on the industry to raise its standards. Chicken Out! is about boycotting intensively-reared chickens and choosing free range instead. As well as choosing free-range you can register your support on this website. Hugh needs thousands of signatures to convince supermarkets, farmers, government regulators and anyone else involved in this unacceptable business that they must change. Click on the logo to sign up.
In October Woodsmoke hosted a 4x4 and survival challenge charity event for ‘Guide Dogs for the Blind’. With almost 80 folks in attendance, the event was a roaring success and raised £26,000 whilst having a lot of fun and learning some invaluable wilderness skills.
The event is covered in a seven-page article in the December issue of Land Rover Owner international (LROi) – You can read it here.
Our new 2008 dates are now available, the ‘at a glance’ sheet can be found here.
There is a new article from the 'new look' Outdoor Pursuits magazine by Ben on Shelter building and location on our Media page.
 As a result of recent climatic temperature rises, there has been a huge rise in cases of Lyme Disease (spread by ticks) throughout the UK, from the South Downs to the Highlands. There has also been an increase in Tick-Borne Encephalitis (TBE) amongst travellers to mainland Europe.
Ticks are common in woodland, heathland and in particular areas where deer graze (they have also been found in London's urban parks). If you want to learn how to recognise the diseases that they carry, visit the MASTA 'Tick Alert' website.
Ben and Lisa recently helped out on Chris Evan's Foraging event to raise £120,000 for 'Children in Need' teaming up with the inspirational Fergus the Forager (BBC 3's Road-kill Chef). You can read about it in Chris's Blog here and view the gallery here.
To make a donation to 'Children in Need' visit the donation page here.
'The Art of the Bushcraft Tool-maker' - Ben Orford mas made an appearance on BBC Hereford, giving an interview and tour of his workshop. To view it in RealPlayer - click here.
 Ben was recently interviewed for one of Cumbria's local papers, the News & Star. Journalist, Mark Green's article is called 'Back in the food Chain'
Ben's sixth article for Camping Magazine, all about spring-time Wild Food is now online, it's called 'The Spring Forager'. Next month's article will be about Shelter building.
Woodsmoke's wild foods and wilderness cookery courses recently got a mention in the BBC's Good Food Magazine's green pages.
You can read them all on the Media page by clicking here.
We have just added a new 'Green Links' page to our links, check it out here.
Read the Spring Forager course review by Chris Middleton, from the Daily Telegraph's weekend food supplement (11/11/06) - Click here.
 Ben has been asked to speak at the RGS's 'Explore' exhibition in November - giving a short talk on the main stage on 'Five things you need to know about living in a wilderness environment'.
Are you planning an expedition, fieldwork or exploration in 2007?
If so this might be just what your looking for - Explore is the place to find the inspiration, contacts and practical advice you need. Explore is the starting point for hundreds of expeditions each year. The emphasis is on small projects with a research component, but anyone planning an overseas expedition, or fieldwork is welcome.
Ben and Lisa will be there all weekend - so please feel free to come and meet us, and have a chat on the Land Rover stand.
After years of requests, we are now pleased to announce the arrival of our long-awaited 5-day 13-17yrs Woodlander and weekend Family Trailbreaker courses.
Our first Expedition Skills Training Course was a great success. This unique training program was run in association with Wilderness Medical Training - who have unrivalled expedition, academic and professional medical expertise, and sponsored by the Land Rover Experience - the global experts in off-road driving and recovery techniques.
We were also joined by Paul Marsh of Footloose 4x4, a specialist in vehicle dependant overland travel, who provided an inspirational lecture and valuable lessons in vehicle preparation.
And finally, we would like to present our first overseas expedition – the Kalahari Bushman Adventure. This two-week wilderness adventure is an opportunity to learn desert skills deep in the Namibian bush-veldt and experience the fascinating lives of one of the last hunter-gatherer groups – the Kalahari Bushman – for more detailed information, you can contact our office to request an Expedition Briefing pack.
Belize Challenge 2006
Ben and Lisa have recently arrived back to the wintry landscape of their Lake District home. They have both spent an intensive month in Belize, keeping very busy with the set-up, recce, tuition and general running of the first ever Belize Challenge, hosted by Venture Challenge who specialise in adventure races through some of the most hostile environments in the world. To see our photos and read more about this adventure in the Chiquabul forest reserve, please click here
 We would like to take this opportunity to announce the launch of the Black Islander's new mail-order service. Hamish stocks top quality outdoor / hunting clothing from Europe, including the fantastic range of Chevalier equipment from Sweden. For excellent products and a fast and friendly service, check them out at www.blackislander.co.uk
We have added a 'Newsletter Facility' to the website, enabling us to update you about new courses or events, availability on courses
due to cancellations, and new developments at Woodsmoke. To sign-up simply add your email address by clicking here, of course you may unsubscribe
at anytime by clicking here, (or by clicking
the link at the bottom of the mailer).
 A
blatant display of nepotism to advertise my folk’s place in Gascogne.
They have renovated a beautiful old farmhouse into a sizable
Gite for hire (pictured left). It has a private swimming pool, stocked
carp pond, a help-yourself organic vegetable garden and is surrounded
by woodland and lakes,
and is less than an hours drive to the Pyrenees. This is a great place
to
relax for a week or two. For more details, check out www.mcnuttinfrance.com
 We are pleased to announce that the Land Rover Experience are supporting Woodsmoke by loaning us one of their fleet vehicles, a Defender 130.
Gift Certificates are available for any of our courses, please just contact our office to request a gift certificate.
Environmental Commitment - Woodsmoke is committed to a ‘minimum impact’ environmental ethos, not only when on the trail, in the field teaching, but also in the office.
 Our brochure literature and all the stationary that we use is made from recycled paper, with a high percentage of post consumer waste. Our brochure covers are handmade in Nepal, from the inner bark of a shrub (Daphne papracea) locally known as ‘Lokta’. This sustainable resource regenerates every six years, preserving the fragile forest ecology of Nepal and supporting the local economy. This is tree free paper!
 Our Land Rover has been converted to run on natural gas. Autogas (LPG) is completely lead free, and compared to petrol and diesel emissions, is a much more environmentally friendly product.
Conservation - To help conserve our worlds wildlife and its diminishing habitats, Woodsmoke provides ‘Biosphere Expeditions’ staff with free wilderness skills training. Ben and Lisa also volunteer their time and expertise, to lead some of these expeditions. To find out more about ‘Biosphere Expeditions’- please click here.
Ray Mears' the best selling book - 'Bushcraft' , which was illustrated by Woodsmoke instructor - Ben McNutt, has recently been released in a soft-cover edition.
 'Bushcraft' has also been condensed into a smaller, more rucksack friendly handbook, titled ‘Essential Bushcraft’. Still packed with Ray Mears’ survival tips and Ben’s illustrations, this edition is more of a 'how-to' manual than the larger format editions. The new layout of this smaller book makes it an invaluable companion on any expedition.
Combining his formal training in Fine Art with his extensive knowledge
of bushcraft, Ben's detailed illustrations clearly describe the many
techniques that are explained in this "superbly illustrated compendium
of practical skills and wisdom,
containing step by step guides to all aspects of survival techniques,
and inspiring accounts of Ray's own experiences and his philosophy
behind bushcraft."
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