Last week, students in the Wilderness Certification Program had the great opportunity to learn from Alderleaf instructor Dave Scott about feathers. They learned about feather structure, function and species identification. As part of the class, we used Dave's new book Bird Feathers: A Guide to North American Species. Feather identification is a skill helpful not only in having a greater appreciation for the natural world, but also is an asset in wilderness survival. Knowing which species are around that might provide a source of potential food is vital in a survival situation.
On the next two days, students built shelters known as "debri-tipis" or "debri-pees" for short. The challenge was to build these shelters from natural materials found at the location, and to sleep in them overnight. That night, the rain fell steadily and the temperatures dropped. In the morning, the students were pleased with what they had accomplished, and how dry and warm they had been!
Here Alderleaf Wilderness Certification Program students Richard and Connor setting up the framework for the roof of their groups debri-pee.
Here fellow students Jackie and Melissa show off their groups' nearly completed shelter. You can see the low doorway near the ground between them.
So what kind of feather is that?
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