Good, Better, Best

In my recent post "Three Characteristics of Adventure" I mentioned that Colin Mortlocks comments in the introduction of The Adventure Alternative(1984 pg 11) resonate strongly with me, the 'adventure' and enjoyment of outdoor activities used to be enough for me and I was happy to climb, hike and camp purely for my own enjoyment and the challenge of going further or somewhere different or using only foraged food or primitive equipment. Now however, after spending several years working with young people I realise that a lot more than personal enjoyment can be gained from adventurous activities.

Take bushcraft as an example, it is a good thing to practice bushcraft because you enjoy it; to know the skills of bushcraft and to be able to light fires, cook your food in the woods, track an animal and identify native wildlife but it is an even better thing to be able to use your skills to keep traditional skills alive and surely the best thing to be able to pass on skills to others. But teaching these skills to others is not the only 'best' bit about passing on skills, there can be more benefits from taking part in bushcraft than just the acquisition of technical skills. As with any adventurous activities taking part in bushcraft can build confidence and team working ability. Bushcraft also brings it's participants into far closer contact with nature than most other adventurous activities providing an excellent way to promote and develop a knowledge of the environment and wildlife.

I would never mock or belittle the practice of bushcraft purely for recreation but I suppose the whole reason I started this blog is that I think bushcraft has far more  than just recreational value.