Places featuresYou are in: North Yorkshire > Places > Places features > Could you survive? Could you survive?We don't all have Ray Mears' skills when it comes to surviving in extreme conditions! If, by some quirk of fate, we found ourselves stranded in the great outdoors and have to find food and shelter - we'd probably freeze or starve! But fear not. If you've ever seen yourself sleeping under a 'bivi' or catching and cooking your dinner, then read our top survival tips from Dalby Forest ranger, Mark Barker - a bushcraft expert. - Always have a positive attitude and respect for the听environment you're in. Look after the forest, it will look after you.
- Learn what's around you by looking for animal tracks.听Look carefully for signs of disturbance in the undergrowth and animal droppings. Deer may strip the bark off small trees.
- There's all you need in the forest to build a natural shelter. Branches provide the framework, and foliage and brash the roofing, offering a snug den that keeps you dry and warm. Rope can be fashioned from nettles by stripping the stalk, twisting and plaiting .
- If you plan on five star dining, simple utensils like spoons can be made of birch bark, and forks made from sharp sticks
- There's no need to get lost in the wood, whatever the time of day or night.听Moss on trees likes the shade, so it's always thicker on the north side of the plant.听At night, the stars shine bright above the forest because there's little light pollution.听Find the North Star by drawing an imaginary line from the vertical two stars in the bowl of the Plough, called the pointers.听It hardly moves through the night, offering a sure-fire way of telling your direction of travel.
- If you know what you are doing, there's plenty to eat in the forest.听Nettle soup tastes surprisingly good.听Tea can be made from the flowers of bell heather.听It has a lovely honey taste.听Soaking pine needles in hot water also provides a refreshing drink.听Healthy eaters can even rustle up a salad of wood sorrel, dandelion leaves and wild raspberries!
Good luck!last updated: 09/04/2008 at 16:23 created: 13/08/2007 You are in: North Yorkshire > Places > Places features > Could you survive? See AlsoOn this siteOn the rest of the webThe 大象传媒 is not responsible for the content of external websites |