“After 8 hours outside in the woods my two boys come home
dirty, tired, and full of energy, stories, ideas and new skills. They
are healthy, strong, self assured; we are building the leaders of
tomorrow.”
-
home
school parent
For current offerings, please see our Program Schedule.
To schedule a custom program, contact us at
primitivepursuits@cornell.edu
About Youth Programs
Each year
Primitive Pursuits offers
experiential environmental education programs to hundreds of local
youth, helping them to put into practice critical life skills, and to
realize their direct impact as caretakers of the Earth. Our curriculum
offers lessons in ecology, environmental literacy, natural history, and
peer mentoring - in the context of practicing wilderness survival
skills and facing group challenges. This model has proven to be an
effective way to bridge the growing gap between our modern culture and
the natural world that sustains us.
These
programs are made possible through a partnership with Cooperative
Extension Association of Tompkins County and
4-H Youth Development.
Through
the exploration of ancestral living skills and nature awareness
challenges, students gain experiences that increase self-confidence and
life skills development while leading them towards having positive,
meaningful relationships with the cycles of life around them.
Activities include:
· Plant use
and identification
· Learning
survival basics
· Preparing
wild foods
· Lodge
building
· Hide
tanning and crafting
· Fire by
friction
· Tracking
· Ecology
and wildlife observation
· Aidless
navigation
· Knife use
and safety
· Making
cordage and natural dyes
· Water
purification
· Scout and
awareness games
· Teambuilding
dialogue
· Studying
animal behavior
· Crafting
stone and bone tools
· Storytelling
· Hazard
identification and protocols
Testimonials and Community
Feedback
Here’s what some
parents of our participants have expressed about their kids’
experiences at Primitive
Pursuits:
“This program brings children to the laboratory of
learning and gives them new windows through which they can perceive
themselves, their peers, and the world around them. They are challenged
to engage in their natural environment not just as a pass through from
one building or vehicle to the next...but rather as the ultimate sphere
of existence and one that is credibly our only true ‘container’.”
“He has never enjoyed a camp so much. You guys do an
awesome
job, and the values you’re teaching are great.”
“My son...is between being a young boy with natural fears
and a big boy who can move through his environment with self-assurance.
Primitive Pursuits had a noticeable impact, as I have seen [him] move
through the forest with more confidence. He was able to be comfortable
with identifying poison ivy and also less fearful of the forest in the
dark…”
"Of all the things
[my daughters] do, this is their favorite."
“I want to thank you for voicing for our young people an
appreciation and way of recognizing the deeper importance of our human
connection with nature. This gives these children a new vocabulary that
enables them to articulate for themselves, at other times, their
feelings about their connection to nature.”
“Being blindfolded and led through a field with a
guide,
being a snake in the grass, a boys vs. girls balancing contest...I
think some
of her most vivid childhood memories will probably come from Primitive
Pursuits.”
And here is some feedback from other education
professionals who have employed our program:
“I’m writing to thank you for the outstanding programming
you’ve provided for youth in the Newfield community over the past year.
The activities… have enriched the lives of dozens of children,
particularly those among our at-risk populations. In addition the
indispensable life skills you have engendered, including leadership,
cooperation, and self-responsibility, will continue to serve them
throughout their lives.”
- youth service program manager
"I
was truly impressed by you & your staff and their skills at dealing
with youth and channeling their energy in productive ways...It was
great to have the kids realize their own abilities and patience to make
things happen without the help of modern technology, and enough
practice that they could replicate these skills on their own if they
had to...Your
instructors were really amazing - turning leaf raking for
shelter-building into an irresistible game, quietly & firmly
upholding respect, separating the youth from the behavior when
addressing it...the list goes on. Please pass on that
I think you're really doing it all right!"
-youth service program manager
“Primitive Pursuits uses hands-on, experiential types of
learning opportunities to instruct people of all ages...I give them my
highest recommendation as a program that is an ideal alternative to
traditional educational settings.”
- public school teacher
