What’s it about?
To meet a growing need in Outdoor Education, the Institute for Outdoor Learning is now providing a system of courses to equip those of you who are/aiming to use bushcraft skills as part of your programmes.
This full 3-day IOL Bushcraft Competency Certificate training course has been created by the IOL Bushcraft Professional Practice Group using some of the most experienced trainers of bushcraft in the country. This is provided by individual training organisations; Jack Raven Bushcraft is proud to be one of them.
If you don’t have any previous bushcraft experience, get in touch before booking on.
What will I do on this IOL Bushcraft Competency Certificate training course?
The syllabus meets the IOL Statement of Good Practice. On this intensive 3 day course you will cover:
- UK knife law and its relevance to bushcraft,
- Safe use of basic bushcraft tools such as knives, folding saws and bow saws,
- How to sharpen a bushcraft knife,
- Making simple carved implements such as a tent peg or feather stick,
- Safe shelter construction, including ‘A’ frame and ‘lean to’ debris shelters,
- Importance of insulating yourself from the ground in a debris shelter by creating an improvised bed,
- Establishing fires by: bow drill, fire steel, flint and steel, lenses, mirrors, chemicals, matches, fire pistons, lighters, batteries & wire wool,
- Constructing and using a tinder bundle to light a fire,
- Fire maintenance,
- Locating, filtering and purifying water,
- Tree identification and uses, including food sources available from trees,
- How to prepare and make natural cordage from a variety of sources,
- Natural navigation using shadow sticks, a watch, the moon and stars,
- And of course, ensuring that we leave no trace,
Throughout the course we will provide advice and guidance on tools and equipment and how to teach the skills covered to other people, whether that be individuals or groups, all based on our own years of experience.
To be added to the register of holders of the IOL Bushcraft Competency Certificate, you will need to log 120 quality hours and attend a separate assessment, available through Jack Raven Bushcraft.
Take a look at our ‘IOL Hall of Fame‘ to see photos of the people that we know have successfully taken their assessment. and gained the IOL Bushcraft Competency Certificate.
Book now
You can see our entire course schedule here.
Other information
Location: Westwell, Kent
Duration: 3 days
Start: 9am Friday
End: 4pm Sunday
Course size: Maximum of 6 – to make sure that you get the best possible tuition on this busy course
Catering: We’ll provide tea & coffee, breakfast and dinner but you’ll need to bring a packed lunch
Note: There is a short walk from the meeting point to the camp. We’ll transport your bags in our 4×4.
You might also find these Frequently Asked Questions useful.
What our customers say
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Just finished the 3 day IOL Bushcraft Competency Certificate. A fantastic course - can’t believe we covered so much in just 3 days! Gary’s knowledge is outstanding.
This is my second course with Jack Raven after doing the 5 day course back in 2017.
Gary, the main instructor, has depth of knowledge that is really quite astonishing and covers a broad range of subjects above and beyond just the rudimentaries of Bushcraft. He's a great teacher too, concise, explains things clearly, loads of patience if we struggled, fielded our questions well but also knew when to get us back on track if we were diverging too much.
Bobert and Jules, the co-instructors are also highly knowledgable and the food cooked up by Nicola every evening was delicious. To top it all they're all just decent folks to hang out with for a few days, Willow the dog included. Really highly recommended, looking forward to going back to (hopefully) get my certification with them next year too.
Excellent experience. Lots of knowledge shared
Warm encouraged to get those basics skills embedded.
Patience (lots of) with everyone needs.
Highly recommended.
Had a fantastic 3 days with Gary and his crew doing the Bushcraft Competency Certificate training. Everyone was so supportive and patient! They were all very knowlegable and when they could see I was struggling with the Bow Drill, they suggested different ways for me to try until they worked out how to get me to achieve using it. I learnt so much over the 3 days and although there was a large amount of information given, we never felt rushed. Their woodland setting is wonderful. I would definitely recommend their courses.
Recently completed a three day bushcraft course training was excellent Trainers friendly and patient food great beautiful woodland Great time had in spite of the rain.
This course is accredited by the Institute for Outdoor Learning. This means that it has been through a quality assurance process covering the experience and procedures of the organisation, the design of the course and the qualifications/experience of the trainers.
If you have any concerns about the quality of your IOL Bushcraft Competency Certificate course, please talk initially to the course staff and organisation. If there are still problems, please contact the IOL office.
The Institute for Outdoor Learning encourages outdoor learning by developing quality, safety and opportunity to experience outdoor activity provision and by supporting the good practice of outdoor professionals. Member benefits include professional journals and workshops, discounts on equipment, national and regional conferences, etc.
For details of membership benefits and how to join, please visit the IOL website.
