Becoming "Outdoor Skills Certified"

“The most important survival tool you have is your mind,” Carson instructed the group of campers gathered on the porch of the Outdoor Skills building. Today they would be learning about what to do if they found themselves lost, and what makes a good signal for being found. Carson Skidmore is one of the counselors teaching Outdoor Skills Certified (OSC), along with Coley Brown and the activity leader Andrew Gardner. All three of them are former campers, passing on their knowledge to the next generation of Falling Creek boys.

Together the boys in the activity period brainstormed ways they would signal for rescue - shouting, using a whistle, reflecting the sun with a pocket mirror, and building a fire that gives off plenty of smoke. In the days to come, they would build on that knowledge with additional navigational skills, including orienteering with a map, navigating without a map, and creating a leaf compass with a paperclip. “It’s important to know how to use the tools you bring with you,” Carson explained to the boys.

The new OSC progression system ensures that campers become skilled in five key areas: fire, shelters, navigation, tools, and “wilderness living,” which includes things like edible plant knowledge, rescue signals, and knot tying. Not only are the topics helpful and essential for any outdoorsman, they’re also fun to learn. With the days of the week separated into topics like “Map Mondays,” “Wilderness Living Wednesdays,” and “Fire Fridays,” campers have a focused skill to look forward to learning about every day of the week. Walker told me about how he learned a square knot, bowline, and sheetbend during the knot tying lesson the previous day on “Take Cover Tuesday” (which focused on shelter building knowledge) and how he planned to use them even when he was back home. “The square knot is the best for quickly undoing,” he said.

At OSC, boys learn how to navigate the world, build confidence in their ability to be independent, and gain more knowledge to keep them safe on their adventures. However, on a broader level, this is what we hope that boys gain from the camp experience as a whole. Not only do we want them to gain outdoor skills for being better outdoorsmen, but we also hope that the hard and soft skills they build at camp will help them grow into the best version of themselves.

Our goal is to equip boys with the skills to navigate the world – both metaphorically and (thanks to the new OSC progression system) literally.