You hear it all the time. Bushcraft is a dying art. Okay, maybe you don’t hear it. But it is dying.
Bushcraft is a practice of skills to survive and thrive in a natural environment. Essential bushcraft skills are building a shelter, creating a fire, foraging for food and collecting water. In comparison to camping, bushcraft strips the comfort of a sleeping bag and tent, and only allows for natural materials..
Mieszko Solowinski ’25 practices bushcraft by making cordage and building structures out of natural materials.
“As I got older and got more into the survival side of things, I gained a deeper appreciation for what I would come to know as bushcraft,” Solowinski said. “I dove into survivalist texts and hoped to gather and preserve knowledge which our ancestors might have previously held.”
A common technique used in Bushcraft is using natural fibers to make cordage, which is like a rope made from natural fiber. Solowinski uses this to hold up the roof of his shelters and as a fishing line.
“Making cordage out of natural fiber was something I learned alongside bushcraft skills,” Solowinski said. “Me and my friend were always outdoors people and even as kids would mess around and build anything.”
Solowinski uses survival channels on Youtube helping him to learn the insights of bushcraft, but Youtube is not the only source Solowinski has found helpful. Solowinski has relatives who are familiar with the practice who help him in his journey of learning.
“When I go to see my relatives in Poland I hope to learn the art of basket weaving as it is something increasingly less people know how to do on their own,” he said.
Solowinski also hopes to learn crafts like shelter building, making of pine pitch glue, plant identification and foraging.
“Nature is willing to teach you,” Solowinski said, “ if you are only willing to go out and listen. ”
