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The Æthelmearc Gazette

~ Covering the Kingdom of Æthelmearc of the SCA

The Æthelmearc Gazette

Tag Archives: Forestry

New Category for Ice Dragon Pent

08 Wednesday Feb 2023

Posted by aethgazette in Foresters Guild, Forestry, Research

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Aethelmearc Forestry Guild, Camping, Forester, Forestry

Ice Dragon Pent adds new category: Skill-Based Arts

Are you one of those artisans who loves creating for the sake of the process, not the product? Who loves to learn to use something the period way, instead of creating for display? I do admit that the use of bone ice skates for the first time sure could be seen as a Performance Piece – especially when done so in period garb during regular opening hours on a university skating rink! But, generally speaking, the skill-based arts are mostly shared as live demonstrations in how-to classes, or, if you’re in the right place at the right time, when you witness an artisan use their skill at an event you happen to be at.

Until recently, those working on the practical outdoor skills did so at their leisure, and mostly by themselves. The popularity of the recent Viking Hikes, a group started by Sir Stefan, and Garb Saunters, the slower paced, multi-cultural version by the Foresters Guild, raised more awareness and interest in the learning and sharing of outdoors and survival skills. The outdoor nature of these hikes and saunters was great timing during the years of the Plague, especially with so many hikers able to share really cool stuff virtually!

The Dolly Sods saunter by the Æthelmearc Foresters Guild on a cold and dreary day. Brion Bearclaw Woods and ranking chapter member Rikardr, the Warden of Æthelmearc, are wearing full woolen outfits and backpacks. Photo from Rick Blizard’s FB feed.

In a similar vein, a number of years ago, the East Kingdom formed the Royal Foresters, based on the medieval foresters that protected the forests of medieval England from outlaws and poachers. Master Morien MacBain, Forester, Deputy Warden of Æthelmearc, and one of several founding members of the Æthelmearc chapter, explains the Foresters Guild exists to foster period wilderness, woodland, and travel skills and adventures both at SCA events and outside the usual event structure. What makes it unique is an emphasis on period travel on foot and by small boats, as well as fire making, constructing shelters, foraging for food, hunting, fishing, and the construction of gear to assist in all these endeavors.

With the new Guild in mind, the Ice Dragon Pentathlon added a new category: the Skill-Based Arts. This category is for Skills that are, in and of themselves, arts, but are not performance pieces. Videos are encouraged for Skills that do not lend themselves to entry in person.

I have not been able to go on a walk-about – yet. My partner and kid Hrolfr and Simon have, and Simon talked about the experience for months! But, luckily, I, and many others with me, were able to enjoy vicariously through the enticing posts of Mistress Álfrún ketta.

In her own words: “I first heard about the Foresters’ Guild when Master Morien MacBain came out to our home in the woods to explore possible places to build a primitive shelter. While I enjoyed trekking around the property in garb, I had a misunderstanding about the Guild itself at the time. What I had seen to that point were the folks who were interested in “survival” style work, long hikes, sleeping in make-do shelters and the like and I knew that was not for me.

Two trapped crayfish (top left and right of leaf) in Álfrún’s very functional wicker trap! To read further check her blog post here.

Once I got further involved, however, I realized that there is so much one can do under the umbrella of the Guild. I personally have explored building a primitive trap for crawdads. I am working on building out an accurate kit for my chosen Forester persona (14th Century English, though one is not limited to medieval Europe at all for this). My major work though surrounds plants, and learning what in this region would also have been accessible in period, and what did they do with these items then. The end result is planned an apothecary kit and (digital) herbal based on period research. I plan to gather or grow the bulk of the items in this kit.

What I am enjoying the most as a member of the Guild is that this has driven me outdoors more often. Learning more about the flora and fauna surrounding me has given new focus to my SCA A&S and researching period usage for the plants is beyond fascinating. This also ties back into an older interest of mine of herbal medicines (though I am deliberately keeping all modern medicinal information out of my SCA apothecary work). Another thing to enjoy? The community! I am seeing folks in three Kingdoms (Æthelmearc, East and Atlantia) sharing their interesting projects, many of which are also sources of inspiration for things I want to eventually try myself!”

Something I did not realize at first is that the Foresters Guild has ranks, although, as Forester Master Morien emphasizes, they are not strict about them. He feels that “the kind of person you are and your skills and attitude count for far more than rank! It’s more like Boy Scout ranks than military ones, in that regard. There are Novices, Underforesters, Foresters, and Master Foresters. Advancement has to do with experience, firemaking skills, putting together a certain level of gear and soft kit, and research!”

What I find inspirational – and quite motivating – is that “[t]here are also special Orders of Merit within the Guild, which people may choose to apply for if they like. Each one has their own specific Trials, so it’s a bit like the Order of the Arrow in Scouting. The Orders of Merit in the Guild are: Regarders or “Fighting Foresters,” who practice a Scadian martial art of some type as part of their Forester pursuits. Next are Woodwards, who specialize in Service as well as Arts and Sciences. Then there are Rangers, who focus on wilderness survival and travel skills and adventures.”

Brion Bearclaw and Rikardr on their four-day back-packing trip through the Dolly Sods Wilderness in historical Viking clothing with all-historical Viking camping equipment. For more pictures, check Rick Blizard’s FB Photos!

Are you now, like me, really intrigued?
And want to know even more?!

Visit the Æthelmearc Forester Program (Unofficial) Facebook page as well as the East Kingdom Guild FAQ page.

Do keep in mind: if you’d like to actively participate, joining the Facebook Group is not enough: one has to formally apply for Guild membership. The next event to have the Forestry Guild present will be Æthelmearc War Practice, in May, so do not wait too long to get your application in!

And if you just can not wait to start? Or already have skills you would love to share already? Take a hike, with a friend, and a camera, and enter the Skill-Based category at the Ice Dragon Pentathlon. We can not wait to see what hidden skills are awaiting us in our Fair and Sylvan Kingdom!

In case you did not realize, guess what “sylvan” refers to – it’s like this Guild is made for us!

yours in service,
elska

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Join the Æthelmearc Foresters’ Guild!

23 Wednesday Jun 2021

Posted by Krista in Arts & Sciences, Camping, Cooking, Forestry, Gaming & Fun

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Aethelmearc Forestry Guild, Forestry, Wilderness Studies

Master Morien McBain, hopes to foster a Forestry Guild here in our Kingdom, and is off to a great start, with online classes and lively discussions, plus and outdoor activities already in planning and even scheduled! He sat down with Gazette to answer our inquiries. 

Tell us about yourself (name, title, etc.)

Hello! I’m Morien MacBain, and I really like to lurk about in the shrubbery, tie knots, and set things on fire.  In addition, I’m a big fan of chopping things with axes, rowing about in boats, backpacking about,  and eating plants and animals.  I also ride – but do not eat – horses.

Tell us about the new group (name, goals, etc.)

At the moment, our group is called the Æthelmearc Wilderness Skills Study Group (find us on Facebook!), but we hope to soon be the Æthelmearc Royal Foresters when we become a chartered branch of the Known World Forester’s Guild!

How does one get involved?

Ideally, I’d say join our FB group, as well as the Known World Forester’s Guild and East Kingdom Royal Foresters groups.  Then  check out any and all documents in the “Files” sections that strike your fancy, but especially the New Member’s Guide . As well as Foresters 101.

Then, once all that woodsy goodness has blown your hair back,  fill out the Forester’s Guild Application: https://ekfg.eastkingdom.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Foresters-Guild-Application.pdf. And shoot it off to Gwillim Kynith at: warden@ekfg.eastkingdom.org

He’s a lovely fellow, and the Warden of the Guild of Foresters for the East Kingdom.  You will be applying for an “affiliate” (out-of-kingdom) membership.  Æthelmearc’s program is just getting started, so we’re operating under the aegis of the East’s program until we have our own set up, and getting as many affiliate members as possible operating in Aethelmearc is an important early step.

What are your hopes for how the Forestry community grows and functions here in our Kingdom?

Our application to the Guild for a “Letter Temporary” is in draft, and is making the rounds collecting signatures. We’ll have several members advancing to the rank of Forester by the end of the summer, I’d say.  I anticipate we’ll be in a position to apply for Æthelmearc’s own Regional Charter by this time next year. Hopefully whoever is on the thrones at that point will sign our Charter!  We will be patrolling and protecting all their Sylvan wilds, after all!

How does the East come into play? 

We turned to the East Kingdom Royal Foresters since they have the best-established and most accomplished body of people doing this in the SCA.  They’ve been instrumental in helping Atlantia, Meridies, and An Tir get their kingdom programs running, so working with them while we get our ducks in a row was the obvious choice.  They have been incredibly supportive, and we look forward to working with them going forward, although of course I hope our progression to a full-fledged chartered kingdom program of our own will come quickly!

What specific kinds of things can people learn about, research, and do?

Good night, it’s astonishing the wealth of skills we can get up to!
-Period fire making
-Travel by boat, horse, and on foot
-Shelter making
-Hiking
-Backpacking
-Stealth and leave-no-trace camping
-Orienteering and celestial navigation
-Wilderness survival (including cold and wet environments)
-Foraging wild edibles
-Hunting, fishing, and trapping
-Flint knapping
-Making salt
-Tanning leather
-Crafting tools
-Skills challenge courses
-Weapons and gear of outdoor life
Tracking
-Sign cutting and evasion
-Recreation of pilgrimages
-Campfire cooking
-Preparation of period trail rations
-Identification of trees and herbs, and their many uses.

The list goes on, and people can go insanely hardcore, or just try a few things that interest them.  Glorious stuff!

What got you interested in this? 

I’ve been running around in the woods since I was six.  I was in Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, The Order of the Arrow (the Scouting national honor society), and I was in the Army, where I got to mess around in the woods in various places, so I’m a big fan!  I’m also into the modern bushcraft movement, which involves watching lots of old-time wilderness skills being brought to modern people to keep them alive (both the skills and the people, I suppose).

What are your favorite pieces of forestry/wilderness advice for the re-enactor? 

“Two is one; one is none,” meaning you should always have a backup for each crucial piece of gear you need in the woods (multiple blades, ways of starting a fire, methods to purify water, ways to signal for help, etc.).   Also, hydrate like a crazy person when you’re thirsty, hungry, hot, cold, tired, irritable, being chased by wolves, whatever!  DRINK WATER!  Also, purify your water, even if the stream looks fresh.  Waterborne illnesses like giardia are no joke!  Essentially, read everything you kind find by Dave Canterbury and especially Mors Kochanski, that guy was a beast!

What’s the essential gear? Or how can I get started? 

Essentially, you need some green garb, good boots, and a decent knife (preferably single-edged), and a desire to learn about the natural world and all the adventures, lessons, treasures, and mysteries it has for us!

Get online and find other Foresters near you, and start getting out in the woods and waters together (I love getting out there solo, but even I admit that a partner makes stuff safer and usually more fun.)

Here’s a clip on the topic by Llywd Forester, the founder of the Guild on the topic of gear and getting started.  Good stuff!

Any parting thoughts?

I’d like to add that forestry has opened up a sweet new dimension in my Scadian life, and that wealth of skills that one can study and practice can be a real ornament to a life and balm and oil to a weary heart! There’s been a rich air of mystery and romance around people with the skills to live and thrive in the wilderness for centuries, and recapturing, practicing, and transmitting those skills to new generations connects us with a profoundly human part of ourselves which many of us have almost forgotten was there!

We’re not the Sylvan Kingdom for nothing.  Æthelmearc is covered by woods, and we have deep wells of wilderness skills in our area.  We have some amazing people coming together to train and share skills.  Come and join us!

 

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Known World Agriculture & Forestry Symposium

25 Sunday Aug 2019

Posted by aethgazette in Arts & Sciences

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Agriculture, Farming, Forestry, Known World, Symposium

Greetings from Dagonell the Juggler, the Known World Symposiums Advertising Deputy, working under the Society MoAS! Good gentles we have not one, but two Known World Symposiums coming up on Labor Day Weekend!

And here is the second!

Known World Agriculture & Forestry Symposium
Aug 30-Sept 2, 2019
Elchenburg Castle Farm
2239 Center Road, Boonville, NC 27011

This is the penultimate opportunity to gather the best teachers and exhibits dealing with period Agriculture, Land Use Practices, and Livestock Practices. This will cover everything from crop farming to kitchen gardens, agri-business, forestry, animal husbandry.

If it involved turning the land to production or domestication, management, and use of animals in human activities in anyway, then it will probably fall under the umbrella of this symposium. This is a celebration of all things to do with period Agriculture, Forestry, Land Management, and Food Production and the use of the harvest and get of those occupations. Classes, demonstrations, discussions, songs, and stories dealing with these activities, skills, and products will fill the weekend.

This is an SCA event focused on all aspects of pre-1600 agriculture, forestry practices, land and livestock management, and the use of produce and get from these industries. Attendance is open to SCA participants, both paid members and non-paid friends. All attendees are asked to make an attempt to dress in the style of pre-1600 European cultures or any ethnicity that was known to them.

A list of classes offered, feast menu and registration information may be found on their website at: http://kwagforest.atlantia.sca.org/

Plow_medieval_farm

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