Further Training in Wilderness Education II 2027/2028

Purpose and Scope

The part-time Wilderness Education II training builds on the knowledge and experience gained in the one-year Wilderness Education program.

Across five modules comprising a total of 24 course days, we will explore new ways of connecting with nature and expand our awareness and wilderness skills. Independent study with topic-related assignments between the modules will help supplement our knowledge and personal experience.

As a stable group, we will intensively explore new wilderness elements, deepen our existing knowledge, and strengthen our sense of belonging to this place. Through our connection with nature and ourselves, we can also accompany other people on their journey as mentors.

The contents of the course are:

• Wild plants in the different seasons
• Wild plant cuisine using edible wild plants (buds, leaves, flowers, seeds, wild fruits, and roots)
• Tracking and sign identification in Emilia-Romagna, Italy
• Traditional knowledge of birds
• Primitive Skills
• Living through the cold season
• Fire – different methods
• Primitive cooking methods
• Wilderness camp – living in community
• Wilderness living in Sweden
• Expanding our perception and merging with nature
• Rituals, Inner Tracking, and solo time
• Nature mentoring
• Self-study

Module 1 – Primitive Skills and Ancient Bird Lore
To begin our joint training, we will rediscover old skills and learn primitive skills, including sewing containers from rawhide, pottery, and old fire-making techniques. We will deepen our knowledge of ancient bird lore and the language of birds on an excursion.

Module 2 – Tracking and Sign in Italy
Our camp and tracking area are located in the mountains of Emilia-Romagna, Italy. During our 5-day wilderness journey, we will follow the tracks and trails of, among others, red deer, roe deer, wolves, foxes, and porcupines, immersing ourselves in the ways of life and behavior, and the habitats, of these different animal species.

Module 3 – Wintertime
During the cold and quiet season, we will turn to the themes of the North and Northeast and apply the survival knowledge we have learned to the cold season.

Module 4 – Wild Plants
Wild plants not only provide us with a food source in a survival situation, but also allow us to complement and replace cultivated plants, thereby making us more independent. Gathering and preparation methods throughout the yearly cycle—from buds, leaves, flowers, and seeds to wild fruits and roots—offer us many ways to nourish ourselves with wild plants.

Module 5 – Wild Living – Sweden
In the Swedish wilderness, we will experience the natural world in its original state as a community. We will find our campsites on remote islands and beautiful spots by lakes. Wild plants, berries, mushrooms, and fish that nature offers us at this time of year will enrich our menu. Rituals and a solo period will connect us with ourselves and with nature.

Wilderness Education II is aimed at anyone who has successfully completed a one-year wilderness education course at a wilderness school and wants to continue on this path.

Camps in Upper Bavaria. The 2nd module—tracking and sign identification—takes place in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. The 3rd module is at a mountain hut in Upper Bavaria, and the 5th module is in central Sweden. Most of the training takes place outdoors. You will need your own camping equipment. Participants are responsible for their own travel to the locations.

The Wildnispädagogik II training course concludes with a certificate. In addition to regular attendance at the modules, documenting the independent study is a requirement for obtaining the certificate. The certificate provides information about the teaching topics and content.

The cost of the training is € 1,980. Payment for the training is in 4 installments. An additional € 680 is payable for site rental/food/course materials/canoe rental. Participants arrange their own travel.