Group Package Retreats — Nature Reconnection Classes

Let us add value to your idea…

Welcome to Nature Reconnection, the perfect company to add value and positive memories to your group retreats, events, or workshops. Our goal is to help create the experience you desire for your group and add long lasting value. We are a group of outdoor educators specializing in survival and sustainable primitive living skills. Since 2014 we have strived to set a new standard for outdoor instructors utilizing a simple formula; experience > youtube. All of the instructors working for nature reconnection have spent extensive time in the wilderness areas around the globe training and perfecting their skills. Also our instructors have learned their skills from indigenous peoples in Africa, South America, West Indies, Indonesia, Pakistan, North America, and many other locations where there are communities still practicing these skills for their direct survival. We add value to any event by bringing these skills and experience directly to your group without the world travel or endurance suffering. Regardless if you are a group of adults or a group of children with adult leaders we can tailor a Nature Reconnection adventure to your needs. We also give you the space to lead your own curriculum side by side with our nature learning. This is perfect for corporate team building events, church retreat adventures, yoga retreats and more because the organizer of the group normally has objectives and lessons they wish to complete as well. We understand this and will work together to create the perfect curriculum for your students. We will also structure our adventure around your specific needs and goals to create the perfect fit for your vision.

Bushcraft Snowshoes and Coal Transportaion in Snow

Pakistan Primitive Survival Workshop

Lost Hikers - How to survive overnight

Bushcrafting an Atlatl and Dart | How to Build and Throw | Ancient Primitive Weapons

Survival taught to school children in Gilgit Baltistan

Making Rope is Dope - How to make Primitive Cordage

Bow Drill Friction Fire with Kody Sherwood

How to make a Costa Rican Water Filtration System

How to Harvest and Make Primitive Arrows

24 Hour Solo Bushcraft Challenge

Clay - How to Identify and make Primitive Pottery

water purification Nature Reconnection

Primitive Shelter Build - No Modern Tools Used

Primitive Shelter Building

In wilderness survival or in the case of a natural disaster it will be crucial that you build a shelter to survival hash climates or conditions. Understanding how to create effective survival shelters is one of the most important skills you will learn. From keeping you protected from the elements to providing a place to rest, survival shelters serve a key role in survival situations. We will discuss many types of shelters depending on factors that include ‘what materials are available, environmental conditions, choice of heat source, and whether it will be a personal or group shelter’. We will team build a shelter with the class to demonstrate effective shelter building techniques and philosophy in action.

Primitive Tool Building

This class will discuss primitive tool making such as stone axes, primitive footwear, burn bowls, primitive water filtration units, and bow and arrow making. Surviving weeks or even months without the bare essentials can make surviving additionally hard. Learning how to make something as simple as shoes in the wilderness can make even the simplest tasks more tolerable in a survival situation. Creating tools from the wilderness will allow you to “thrive in the wilderness rather than attempting to survive in the wilderness”. Many primitive tools will be built from the local wilderness area we will be teaching from. This class will open your mind to the unlimited opportunities nature lends us in times of need.

Friction Fire

This class will teach you true self-reliance; the ability to make fire anywhere, and anytime with no tools. You will be taught two methods, the Hand Drill and the Bow Drill. The Hand Drill method is the most primitive and thus requires tremendous focus and energy. You spin a wooden stick against a wood board with your bare hands and make a small ember which is then blown into a flame. This method has had one of the widest distributions on earth, and is now nearly a forgotten skill due to inventions like the match, or lighter. The hand drill method is a thing of beauty and art. Second you will learn about the Bow Drill method. Historically Bow drills were used between the 4th and 5th millennium BC. Similar drills were found in other parts of the Indus Valley Civilization and Iran one millennium later. This method is a lot easier to master, and can also be used to bore holes into wood or stone. After learning and practicing both of these methods you will have the ability to create fire in any circumstance that may present itself.

Edible and Medicinal Plant Tour

This class will teach you about the native plants on the property that are edible and medicinal. The instructor will take you on a plant tour where you will interact with each plant first hand, offering an amazing learning experience. Bring a note book so that you can take notes along the way. All other materials will be provided. Learning about the plants in your area is a fantastic way to connect with nature. This class will dive into the names, uses, and medicinal qualities of each plant we encounter. We may also talk about its historical usage over time by different cultures if applicable. This is a great learning experience and a lot of fun!

Primitive Trapping

Post disaster or in a survival situation, traps can capture animals that provide you precious calories from meat and fat. Traps can work for you while you are off accomplishing other tasks, if they are set correctly. You will be taught how to build various traps to target small to large game animals. All of these traps will be built primitively using resources that lend themselves to us while in the field. Understanding how to build primitive traps will allow you to provide for yourself and others if you are cut off from civilized food sources. Here is a picture from our trip to Pakistan. Here we are teaching participants how to set a primitive snare.

Water filtering and purification methods

After a natural disaster people may be caught for weeks or months without pure drinkable water. Even in a wilderness survival situation it is important to purify water to protect yourself from bacteria and viruses that may be in the water. This class will discuss and demonstrate everything you need to know about water purification, and filtering. You will be taught how to purify water without a container in the field, and how to filter it so that it is clear and safe to drink. Various methods will be discussed and demonstrated starting with the most primitive, and ending with modern techniques you can use in a post disaster situation. After this class you will leave with the essential knowledge you need to maintain pure hydration for yourself and others in any situation.

Primitive Pottery Workshop

The knowledge of how to transform clay into pottery signifies a major leap forward for prehistoric cultures. Our ancient ancestors had a deep connection with the earth, and this workshop will reconnect you with their skills. Here you will pound residual clay chunks down with stones, and refine it into clay. Then you will be taught how to properly hydrate it, and begin working on your pottery piece. You will be showed multiple methods used around the world, and will gain the knowledge to create your own pottery from the earth. If you are interested in pottery, primitive skills, or sustainable living this workshop is a great 1 hour adventure back in time. No experience is necessary and all are invited to reconnect with nature.

Sample Adventures - Remember you can adjust or add anything to your adventure to make it fit your needs. We will work with you to create the perfect experience.

4 day Overland Adventure

Intermediate - Advanced Level

Our 4 day overland adventure can be tailored for your direct needs and group goals. In this course your group will move 25+ miles over the course of 4 days and 3 nights. More or less days and nights can be added or subtracted for your groups special requirements. The goal of these overland adventures is to teach the students outdoor skills on the move as teaching moments arise. Students will carry the items they need for survival on their person and set up and take down camp every morning and evening during the adventure. All essential survival skills will be taught and used during our adventure with hands on instruction and lectures. This adventure is recommended for students with prior camping or backpacking experience. We move from Wrightwood to Glendora following the San Gabriel river with ample water supply year round. Expect to see bighorn sheep, deer, and other wildlife with the possibility of seeing mountain lion and bears. The area we will be moving through is truly wild and nearly untouched by modern man, so it is extremely doubtful that we will see any other human beings until we reach the city of Glendora. For this reason this adventure requires contingencies to be put into place for your groups safety. A back pack carried by our instructors will contain a trauma first aid kit, satellite phone, emergency shelter system, backup food, water purification system, and much more. We also are in contact with two ranger stations for your safety, one being at the starting location and the other at the finishing location. With an emergency plan and contingency backpack filled with life saving equipment it is our mission to have an extremely safe and well planned trip. For this reason we are never unprepared and always deliver the best service within our industry. This adventure provides your students with the highest level of personal achievement and will be remembered for the rest of their lives.

4 Day Campsite Campout

Beginner Level

Our 4 day campsite campout is a perfect way to absorb skills in a safe controlled environment. In this course we select a campsite and stay put for the duration of the adventure. Each day the students will hike, learn and practice outdoor skills, martial arts, and other lessons selected for your groups needs. All the while your students will learn about camp hygiene, camp cleanliness, camp flow, and leave-no-trace philosophies to preserve nature for future generations. To keep things interesting around camp we have various skill classes that involve team work and cooperation while keeping your students engaged and involved the entire adventure. Close to the campsites in Wrightwood we have tons of local trails, peaks to summit, mountain biking, a lake, ziplining, and snowboarding/skiing depending on what time of the season you visit us. All these can be added into your adventure to make it more exciting and memorable. Our skills classes will be the primary focus of the campsite campout adventure. Skills include but are not limited to: friction & modern fire making, emergency shelter building, water purification and filtration, primitive tools, primitive weapons, flint knapping, primitive trapping methods, primitive & modern navigation, animal and human tracking, wild plant identification and uses, primitive cookware and food preparation, camp etiquette, survival buddy systems and much more. Pairing these skills with your goals for the event will leave your students fulfilled after the completion of the adventure. What is better than leaving a 4 day campout with heaps of knowledge and the confidence to survive anywhere on planet earth. Note: Day hikes and other activities off location of the campsite happen each day but the home base for each night is the established campsite.

Hybrid Campout with Overland

Beginner - Intermediate Level

Our 4 day hybrid campout and overland adventure is a great way to maximize learning while still building up for the final overland test. We will spend a couple days at the campsite learning outdoor skills we will use in our overland adventure. After studying and learning we will embark on our multiple day adventure to the peak of Baden-Powell (9,406’). We will summit in one day, make camp at 9,000’ + elevation, spend the night in alpine climate, and return back to the campsite the next day. This is the perfect adventure for beginner - intermediate hikers/outdoorsmen. Also this hybrid adventure builds in intensity as opposed to our 4 day overland adventure package which starts and ends at 100%. This is a great way to move beginner students with little to no knowledge of outdoor skills to the intermediate level safely. So if you have a group with intermediate and beginner students this would be the perfect package for your group. For the first couple days at the campsite your group will learn and study survival skills like: friction & modern fire making methods, emergency shelter building techniques, water purification and filtration, primitive tools, primitive weapons, flint knapping, primitive trapping methods, primitive & modern navigation, animal and human tracking, wild plant identification and uses, primitive cookware and food preparation, camp etiquette, survival buddy systems and much more. After our lessons are complete and the group is filled with knowledge and confidence we pack and prepare for our 2 day, 1 night summit and decent of mount Badden-Powell. This adventure builds your team up together and works towards completing a common goal as a group. This adventure also offers a great since of camaraderie, and personal achievement after the teams goals are met.

Pricing

We always aim to keep our services reasonable because we know how expensive it can be to plan an adventure. Add 20 or more people and things can add up quick and break the bank. This is why we have package levels to help tailor our services to your exact needs.

Just the essentials: In this package we will provide you with just our services at the times we agree upon to help add value to the event you organize, plan, and provide for your guests.
Level me up: In the level up package we will go a little further by offering you logistics. Do you need meals for your guests? Transportation to and from locations? Porters to carry gear, set up locations, and cook at camp? Tell us what you need and we can make it happen! If you and your guests are happy, so are we.
No Brainer: Don’t think about a single thing. We will plan it all for you. This is an all inclusive adventure with porters, camp cook, 3 meals a day, all on top of your discussed activities and training. Just tell us the number of your guests and your general vision and we will do our best to bring it to life!

All of our packages are priced per person and the price will reflect the number of days planned for your event and the level of inclusiveness. Also the final factor is if your event will be overland, campsite campout, or hybrid as described above.