Bartow Couple Launches Bushcraft Survival Series
Teen gamers may have a warrior’s mentality when slaying zombies and cyborgs or surviving in a hostile alien universe in game apps, but before they try putting those skills to work surviving off-grid in Earth’s natural wilderness, they might want to sign up for the Bushcraft Adventure Series being offered by local educators and farmers, Karrie and Gus Tidlund.
With their shared backgrounds in farming, education, and parenting, the Bartow residents recently noticed the same problem: many of today’s teens lack confidence in basic problem-solving and perseverance. They are concerned that kids can get too tangled up in social media, gaming, and their electronic devices to venture out into the real world with a sense of readiness.
Post-COVID era teenagers, they believe, need to build their capacity to tackle problems and confront failure without giving up and walking away. Their observations accompany a recent trend to mitigate the impact of device overuse. The discussion includes reducing classroom screen time and providing “screen detox days,” according to an article in EducationWorld.com. So, they set out to do something about it.
They started by taking the gaming platforms offline and putting the players out into the real world. This summer, the couple launched a four-day summer camp for teens on bushcraft, the basic skills of outdoor survival. Of the many positives, Karrie shared that participants overwhelmingly loved the bushcraft scenarios in the camp program.
From their feedback, they have designed a new opportunity for local teens.
Think of it as an escape-room challenge, but outdoors with trees and trails. Starting in October and running through April, over four dates, the Bushcraft Adventure Series will be held at the Lakeland Highlands Scrub.
Karrie likes that location because it is a “…raw natural setting…” that lends itself to the scenario-driven adventures and is much more authentic for the bushcraft tasks than their farm. In a recent telephone interview, Karrie explained,
“The teens will work in teams to solve scenarios, but ultimately the goal is to transfer those bushcraft skills to their everyday life skills.”
Like the challenges presented in the gaming world, each session presents a situation the players must solve. Foraging for food, building a fire, orienteering, and constructing a shelter are examples. The byproducts of those efforts are intended to increase creativity, perseverance, and problem-solving.
Game on.
Interestingly, the Tidlunds’ desire to share their love of the land did not start with local teens. It started with Karrie’s disdain for the gardening chores of her childhood. When you hear her talk about her gardens today though, you can feel her joy. So much so that the goodness of her experiences could not be contained. While Gus continues to teach in Polk County, Karrie is now devoting her full-time efforts to a new venture.
Dovetailing her farming background with a Master Gardener designation, she opened a stall at the Winter Haven Farmers Market last spring. Her Shade Farms booth offers starter plants and other garden products. Plus, she offers gardening classes. She’s all about helping people get their hands in the soil. She’d much rather have her students “…learn what a diseased leaf looks like from a hike in the garden than from watching a PowerPoint.”
Gus also happens to have a toolbox of skills to teach to others. Wood carving and the more modern talent of photography are two examples of programs he has offered to those ready to shut off the screens and get back to nature.
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The Shade Farms learning labs offer more inspiration and are open to homeschoolers, adults, teens, and during out-of-school times, so kids on public school schedules may participate. Turns out, this Bartow couple’s lifelong partnership with the land may just help others grow and experience real life a little fuller, outside, where the sun shines.
