Rewild or Die! Finally, the edited collection of my blogs is out.
Author Archive for Urban Scout
A few weeks back I took the Grover Cleveland High School NW Ecology class on a hike through the Gifford Pinchot. I hadn’t worked with a group that large (25 or so people) in quite some time, and since I didn’t have much time I did what we call the “drag and brag” in that, I dragged them down the path and bragged about how much I know about Northwest Ecology. This hopefully inspires students to understand how much knowledge is out there and maybe even to get a few of them to come to the rewild camp. I had a great time and forgot how much I enjoy doing environmental education. If only it paid more than television production!
I have a lot of friends and family. The great majority of them know nothing about rewilding. Many consider themselves Christians, Mormons, Atheists, Democrats, Republicans, etc. I want to make the point here that I don’t base my relationships on whether or not someone has an interest in rewilding or even understands anything about it. Obviously I lean towards rewilding friends, but I don’t require it. Why do I remain friends with these people? Because I don’t act like an insane fundamentalist asshole.
A few weeks back I went to a anarchist curated fundraiser for an anti-civilization film. In lieu of my recent “fan mail” and the overall attacks I get from green anarchists, I’m very apprehensive about going to these kinds of events, but I wanted to show my support for the film and meet the filmmaker. I didn’t stay long. Why, in a room full of people who generally agree more or less with me about civilization, did I feel like I stood in the lions den? On my drive home I realized that the activist (and particularly anarchist) community that I have known and experienced has felt like a hate culture.
This book is a 3lb tome that describes Jon Young’s mentoring model. I recommend it for any rewilding people out there, simply on the basis that it has a great collection of games and “routines” that help people have amazing experiences with the other-than-human world. The routines in this book gave me experiences that formed the foundation of my relationship with animism. However, it would be a lie to say that I recommend all of the content in the book. It’s worth digging through the domesticated outlook of connecting with nature (i.e. the feeling of schooling) for the more rewilding type gems. Very worth it, in fact. I wouldn’t have been able to really understand much of what I know now if it were not for the principles in this book. So thank you Jon and company for finally getting this work out there for people to start experimenting with!
Check it out here: http://naturementoring.com/
Whenever I get to talking about how fucked up this culture is and how much it is fucking up the planet, someone inevitably writes me off as just preaching doom and gloom without “realistic” solutions. Generally what they actually mean is solutions [sic] that will prevent them from having to fundamentally change the way they live their life.
For a long time now I’ve used this blog to post up angry rants about random topics, generally relating to rewilding in some way or other. I’ve realized something in the last few days that is blowing my mind: I’m fucking sick of “rewilding.” Yes that’s right folks. I’ve had it up to here with the word rewilding.
A beautiful raccoon heart at the December ‘09 Rewild Camp. I cut it out of a full grown female raccoon who died under the wheel of a car on Powell st. I wanted to eat it, but I don’t know about the toxicity of organ meats of urban omnivores. Especially those riffling through garbage cans in Methland, USA (S.E. Portland). I’m still debating on whether or not to eat her legs which are currently in my freezer.
Photo by Forest
I’ve had a lot of interesting conversations about the mysterious package I received. I’ve learned a lot, become aware of a lot of things I didn’t know about and thought deeply about my reactions and how I will deal with this kind of thing in the future. I’ve made mistakes in the last few weeks that resulted in a situation I didn’t know how to deal with, and so I made a few mistakes in dealing with the situation.
Hey yall, if you live in the Portland/Salem area here is a great way to pass some time in the winter days and learn some cool skillz at a super cheap rate:
This year, Echoes in Time host’s Dale Coleman, Goode Jones and Leland Gilsen will be offering a taste of primitive skills over the weekend of December 11, 12 and 13. This is a very limited class size of 10 students and 4-5 instructors, therefore the instructor to student ratio high. Lunch will be provided and the diet is Opportunivore, if you required something special, bring it. We will be able to sleep in Goode’s shop next to the woodstove, so bring sleeping bags, and personal care items. Cold running water and restroom facilities are available in the shop. There are hotels/motels close if you prefer. We usually go out to eat in the evenings. Cost for this weekend is $75.00. Please contact Dale Coleman (echoesintime [at] aol [dot] com) and send registration fee early to reserve your spot.
A power system sits in place that keeps the rich rich and the poor poor. This power system lies outside of most people’s perception because we grow up in it, never knowing anything different, never seeing it articulated but understanding it down to our bones. It feels as natural to us as drinking a glass of water. This power structure keeps us as slaves, forced to continue building civilization. Without empire civilization could not, would not exist.
As some of you may know, I run a free monthly skill-share called Rewild Camp on the last Sunday. For more info and to get involved, go to www.rewildportland.com.
Raccoon season starts next week. I finally made time to prep my traps in the way my trappers education booklet told me. I boiled the conibears to get the factory grease off and then mixed in a handful of black walnut to see what would happen.
Seriously, topics like this bore the shit out of me and I shouldn’t even have to write about this. But because it happens so frequently, I thought I should. The other day some asshole posted a few comments on my blog calling me a hypocrite (among other things) for watching television. I deleted their comments. A little later they started posting comments about how I had “censored” them.
Everyone talks shit on English Ivy; its invasive behavior has given it a bad rap. A while ago I started to feel empathy for the plant and wonder what kind of relationship I could begin to have with the plant, other than pulling it off of native trees and letting it rot in an ugly pile on the side of a trail.
Hey there Scout,
I am just wondering that, while you are honing your skills to be able to create new out of the aftermath of civilization while nature is still intact, what are your thoughts about what to gather from this world (i.e ropes, tarps, rations, guns) to facilitate survival during whatever happens whenever it happens. haha the future is so wonderfully vague but extremely heavy if you have the proper amount of imagination and paranoia! also do you have a place to escape to, do you think this is necessary? a plan on how to get there undetected, other people to join? i am working on all of these problems right now but my energy and focus rise and fall like the sun and that quickly and if its a nice day outside you can guarantee i am not focusing on the warm weather clothing and wool blankets i will need stowed, mostly working working on my tan(vitamin d), muscles and ability to become nature as to remain undetectable. but i know there are things that are extremely important that will insure that the people with the right intentions for nature and the universe can prevail and that we should have these at the ready just in case anything happens. its funny because i have gone to some “survival” website with lists about what have, they will list “at least a half gallon of water per day per individual, which does not provide water for hygiene, so be sure to take breath mints and STRONG DEODORANT” seriously these people are worried about “hygiene” and its the Apocalypse?!?!? i guess if they weren’t intending to survive on MRES, which are sure to putrefy their systems, they wouldn’t smell so foul but come on, if you even wear deodorant right now i am pretty sure you have a special comet with your name on it hurling towards the earth this second..
I don’t know how well to say thanks but keep exploring and sharing,
Jessica
Continue reading ‘Ask Urban Scout: The Preparedness Question’
When I walked into the Derrick Jensen talk at the Econvergence this year, one of the organizers asked me to sit on a panel the next day at PSU for the Econvergence discussion on “Radical Sustainability”. It seems that another speaker who was to talk about primitivism didn’t work out and they needed someone. Of course, I engage in rewilding, not primitivism and I don’t consider primitivism and rewilding to be synonyms for each other, since rewilding is a much more modern, better understood and culturally sensitive approach to indigenous living. Therefore, I don’t consider myself a primitivist. However, they knew of my differences and we’re still enthusiastic about having me aboard to talk about rewilding, so I said yes.
Today I finally gathered some Black Walnuts. I’ve been watching them for weeks now, ever since I got my traps. I never really thought I would get into dyeing things but then when I got my traps, I read online that I should dye them first, with Black Walnut husk.
I went out the other day with Willem and harvested a whole bunch more fireweed as well as nettles for this next year. I’m going to process even more for my own projects but I want to save a bunch and do another cordage skill share at Echoes in Time next summer. I’m going to save some nettle for that too. I generally cut the stalk as close to the ground as possible and then strip the leaves off by running the stalk along my hand, either with a bandanna or wearing gloves. I do this with both nettles and fireweed. Once they dry I will put more pictures up on how to process them into fiber that you can spin into cord.
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