Picture a day when the grid goes down and you are left on your own to fend in the wild. The future may look bleak but you have the skills to overcome and survive!

1. Harness The Power of Fire
Humans have been using fire for over a million years. It’s the one bushcraft skill that supersedes all others in importance.
A fire provides you with warmth, a way to cook food, purify water, create smoke signals, harden wooden spears, melt snow and it will keep most wild animals at bay during the night.
Starting a fire can be a challenge if you don’t have any matches or a lighter. So it’s important to assess your situation for things that will aid you in creating a fire.

2. Master Knots and Ropes
Knot tying is one of the essential skills needed to survive in the bush. Knots are used to create shelter, traps, snares, tools, weapons and clothing.
The four knots I would recommend learning first would be the square lashing, diagonal lashing, shear lashing and the tripod lashing. As the names suggest, these knots are used to bind polls together and are excellent for constructing a shelter or any framed structure.

3. Track What is Around You
Knowing what is around you is vital to long term survival.
By using tracking skills, you can hunt game for nourishment, find fresh water and food sources and even keep tabs on other people in your area.
Animals generally keep to set patterns of travel unless acted upon by outside forces and experienced trackers can tell how long ago something passed by and the general size and weight of the animal based on print erosion and depth and size of the impression.

4. Forage for Your Food
Foraging for edible plants is a primary skill that is essential for survival.
Wild greens, berries, fruits, vegetables and mushrooms can be found in most temperate zones.
Knowing what is edible and what is toxic can be tricky because some plants and mushrooms look very similar to each other. Never eat a plant or berry because it was eaten by a bird or deer because they can tolerate things that are poisonous to humans.
One of the most common edible plants is the dandelion. Dandelions are easily recognizable and every part of the dandelion is edible. The leaves make a great green salad and the stems and roots can be cooked into just about any dish.

5. Hunt or Snare your Dinner
Probably the most primal of all the bushcraft skills, hunting is a way to add protein to your diet. The success of your hunt depends on your ability to observe prey or evidence of its presence, and then create a plan to either track it down or trap it.
Tracking and killing an animal can be very resource intensive. You could spend hours or even days and still come home with an empty stomach. One way to avoid such a large expenditure of time and resources is the use of snares.

It’s been said that being self-reliant is an ultimate survival skill and we can hardly disagree with that!

If you take the time to learning the bushcraft skills above it will inspire you to succeed in a natural environment. Doing something as simple as starting a fire or tying a good strong knot are invaluable.

For more material please go on over to Soveriegn. There is more detailed information on the above and the website is truly interesting and informative
Learn bushcraft and you will survive during the most difficult conditions!