Bring the outdoors into your classroom with one of our unique presentations on outdoor, environmental or survival education. Since 1999 we've been teaching about the outdoors and guiding full time. We'll custom-design a program to meet your needs, whether you're looking for a 1 period outdoor education presentation, an overnight camping trip or a week-long canoe trip on Maine's Allagash river.

Types of Programs We Offer:

• Classroom Sessions - Slide shows, Powerpoint presentations, direct instruction, demonstrations
• Day Outings - Near your school, at our base, or another location
• Overnight Trips
• Extended Wilderness Journeys

Sample Program Topics:

Edible, Medicinal and Useful Wild Plants - Before Europeans populated this part of the world the wild plants around us provided food, medicine, and raw materials for their material culture. These plants are still growing wild around us, and can be as useful to us as they were to the natives. Students will identify and press or draw a specimen, and when applicable they will sample the edible parts of plants.

Mammals and Their Tracks - We don't see many of the animals that live amongst us because they're nocturnal and avoid human contact. But we can learn about them by reading their tracks on the ground. Students create their own field guide that includes plaster track casts, biological information, and observed behavior when possible.

Natives and Pioneers - Our region has a long history of people wresting a living from the land. Students learn about the native people and pioneers of the area and get to see and feel numerous handmade crafts that would have been common such as braintanned buckskin, natural baskets, burned bowls, canoe paddles, and much more.

Wilderness Survival and Outdoor Living Skills - Survival is something numerous outdoor programs claim to teach, but little of what goes on in these types of programs have anything to do with actual survival. Our programs are different because we've logged extensive amounts of time in the forest teaching these exact subject. Students learn the priorities and skills of wilderness survival and life in the outdoors. They learn what to do if they get lost, and how to stay alive until help arrives.

Carving and Natural Crafting - Most areas in our region have numerous raw materials for crafts locally available in abundance. Student learn what to look for, then harvest them and put them together in a variety of different crafts such as a cattail doll, plaited basket, root basket, try stick (to demonstrate carving), sleeping mat, bough bed, and more.

Fibers; String, Rope and Knots - The world of primitive man was tied together with string and rope. Students learn how to make string from plant fibers, then learn how to make rope using both primitive rope spinners and a rope machine.

Fire Making - Harnessing fire through such mechanisms as the internal combustion engine, is what drives our cars and sends spacecrafts into orbit. It's what powers our society. Students learn about the science of fire, and learn how to make fire by friction(bow drill, hand drill) and percussion(flint and steel). Other fire lighting methods are also shown, and students have the opportunity to make their own friction fire set or use one of ours to make fire primitively.

Canoe and Snowshoe Travel - In the forests of the northeastern US and Canada, waterways were the highways for native peoples. They traveled these highways by canoe for three seasons, and by snowshoe in winter. Students learn the traditional travel methods of the northern forest. They learn about traditional gear, including how it was made and what raw materials were needed. These include handmade canoes, paddles, snowshoes and toboggans.

        We have worked with school groups in the past both in the classroom and outdoors. Our program offerings range from lectures and slide shows to instructional workshops and plant and nature walks. Please contact us for more information.

Download our school programs information packet (150 KB)  

        "In November Mr. Arthur Viens, Ms. Mercedes Warren and I took the Team Vista 7th and 8th graders to Tim Smith's facility to learn about primitive living and survival skills as part of a unit on Discovery Exploration and Settlement. The students broke into small groups to study shelter building, wild plants and foods and fire making. In each group students were able to experience first hand how Native Americans, explorers and pioneers might have lived. Students climbed inside shelters and learned about their construction, tasted native plants including wintergreen and Jerusalem artichoke, and attempted to start a friction fire using a drill and board.
        The students were extremely excited about their experiences with Tim. They continued to discuss what they'd learned on the way back to school and for weeks to come. Many students and parents have told us that the kids have continued to practice the skills they learned at home and were excited to share their new knowledge with their parents. One student even built a shelter in his back yard, where he plans to sleep when the weather warms up!
        Our field trip to Tim's facility was by far one of the most valuable field trips we've taken. It was an extraordinary learning experience for our kids and left a great impression on them. Students who do not ordinarily get excited about learning were talking about what they'd seen for weeks afterward. Our kids clearly enjoyed their experience, gained a greater appreciation for the outdoors and were thrilled with the skills they learned."

- Katie Jarnot
Kingswood Regional Middle School, Wolfeboro, New Hampshire
December, 2005

        "Our school had the great fortune of having Tim Smith visit us recently. Tim was able to amaze over 100 students by giving a presentation that included numerous artifacts that the Native Americans used, demonstrating how these items were utilized, and then allowing the children to explore the tools themselves. Additionally, Tim enlightened the children with fascinating information delivered in an extremely warm and kid friendly manner. After teaching for nine years and having countless guest speakers, I can honestly write that I have never had such positive and enthusiastic feedback from not only the children but parents as well."

- Stephen Facques
Riddle Brook Elementary School, Bedford, New Hampshire
January, 2006

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