Bushcraft Survival in Australia with Jake Cassar

​As the Bushcraft Survival Australia movement grows, it's great to see an incredibly diverse amount of courses and experiences emerging. 

From nature connection bushwalks, to doomsday prepping groups on Facebook. From weed foraging workshops in the inner city, to hard core bush survival courses out in the scrub. 

Personally, I think they are all great for the bushcraft and survival movement in Australia.  

The More Diversity The Better. 

It's easy to draw a parallel to martial arts; if you want to be a rounded martial artist and have the best chance of defending yourself in a real-life situation, you take bits and pieces from various styles until you are as comfortable on the ground as you are on your feet. In bushcraft, it's equally important to understand how to identify and follow animal tracks, as it is to know what plants you can and can't eat in the bush. 

In other words, the greater the diversity of skills that you can acquire, the greater chance you have of dealing with any situation as it presents itself. 

I think it's important to distinguish between the movement of bushcraft survival in Australia, and general bushcrafting. The bushcraft survival movement is about learning all of the essential bushcraft skills to keep yourself alive for short or extended periods in the bush, whereas bushcraft itself can relate to any skills that can be used in the outdoors - from carving spoons, to how to cook a mean bush stew. 

Personally, as a bushcraft teacher of nearly 20 years and an environmental activist, I would like to see more talk in the bushcraft and survival movement in Australia of creating a symbiotic relationship with the land and all its inhabitants. Of course the ultimate survivors on this continent, Aboriginal Australians, learnt to thrive on the driest inhabited continent on the planet. 

While it's not my place to comment on how or why our Indigenous people were able to thrive in this harsh environment, I believe a huge part of it related to their deep respect and understanding of the land and all the life it supports. 

I recently came up with the Patch System to ensure that participants in my courses learn appropriate skills to match their level of understanding. This kind of connection can only develop through getting to know the land in a real and tangible way. 

Like the martial arts system, participants start off on their white patch (rather than a belt) where the focus is on interacting with the land and all it's inhabitants respectfully, safely and sustainably. 

Yellow Patch is about understanding as much as we can about the overall landscape, and offers a deeper understanding of tracking and plant medicine. Then participants can apply to go for their green, blue, brown and eventually earn their black patch. 

I've put around 60 people through their white patch this year, and I too received my While Patch as a teacher as I know I have a lot to learn.

I can't wait to start the yellow patch courses next year! 

What's your experience been with the bushcraft survival? 

Please tell us about your experience below and which courses you'd recommend.

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