The Alderleaf Wilderness Certification Program Nature and Outdoor Survival Course
"The ultimate wilderness skills training"
The Alderleaf Wilderness Certification Program is a comprehensive, ten-month nature and outdoor survival course encompassing wilderness survival skills, permaculture, ethnobotany, wildlife tracking, and outdoor leadership. Led by expert faculty, the program prepares you to apply nature skills in a variety of outdoor careers in education, environmental research, sustainable living, and beyond.
Imagine...
Developing wilderness survival skills that enhance your connection with nature, aid in emergencies and promote self sufficiency...
Making herbal medicines and harvesting wild foods that bring greater health to yourself, your community, and the earth...
Learning how to read animal tracks and sign so you can contribute to environmental research and conservation...
Gaining permaculture and sustainable living skills that help you live and share a greener lifestyle...
Knowing how to teach your new skills to others in a way that inspires hope, leadership, and action...
Core Studies at the Alderleaf Wilderness Certification Program:
Wilderness Survival: Hunter-Gatherer Living Skills Learn how to build natural shelters, purify water, create friction fire, find wild food, and master a variety of wilderness crafts. Wilderness skills help people survive in the outdoors and weather the aftermath of natural disasters.
Ethnobotany: Wild Edible & Medicinal Plants Learn how to properly identify, gather, and prepare wild plants for meals, medicines, and tools. Wild plants provide healthy and nourishing sustenance as well as renewable materials for sustainable living.
Wildlife Tracking: Interpreting Tracks and Signs Develop the ability to accurately read tracks and signs made by mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Wildlife tracking is an incredibly valuable tool in wildlife research and monitoring.
Naturalist Skills: Place-based Ecological Knowledge Develop a holistic understanding of the natural history, taxonomy, and species of North America. A balanced knowledge of flora, fauna, and ecology is an invaluable skill set for environmental field work.
Permaculture Design: Sustainable Living Systems Gain the knowledge and skills needed to design and implement sustainable living systems in balance with natural ecosystems. Lessons from cultures past promote healthy communities and point the way towards a greener future.
Nature-Based Teaching: Education and Culture Develop wilderness leadership and instructing skills, as well as community and cultural awareness. Nature education encourages environmental responsibility and inspires hope.
Students learn these core skills through an exciting mixture of informative presentations, hands-on activities, and field-based experiences and adventures, developing an integrated knowledge of the natural world. Graduates of the Wilderness Certification Program come away with the ability to implement Traditional Ecological Knowledge
into their personal, professional and educational endeavors.
"The course helped to expand my understanding of the role of the natural world in all our lives, and was the catalyst for real personal changes in my own." -Jason Cameron '09
Graduates of the Wilderness Certification Program receive recognized professional certifications. Upon successful completion of the course students receive a Certificate in Wilderness Education & Ecology, a licensed vocational certificate which prepares students to work in the fields of nature education and environmental field research.
As part of the program, students also complete the Permaculture Design Certification, which prepares students to work as sustainability consultants, and participate in an official CyberTracker Track & Sign Evaluation to become certified wildlife trackers.
"I would recommend the wilderness certification program to anyone wanting to reconnect with nature and a desire to live simply, with and for the land." -Jase Grimm '09
The Alderleaf Wilderness Certification Program at a Glance:
Location: Based out of our campus in Monroe, WA (in the Seattle / Puget Sound Region) with field trips throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Duration: School-year schedule. Meets Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 9am - 3pm, with several extended trips during 32 weeks of classes between September 15th and June 4th.
Faculty: Jason Knight, Filip Tkaczyk, Karen Sherwood, Frank Sherwood, Chris Kenworthy, Allan Sande, and Adam Rawson.
Faculty Bios
Enrollment: Class sizes range from 20 to 35 students. The application period for the 2010-2011 school year is open.
Credit: 12 undergraduate credits are available through Western State College (see our "Frequently Asked Questions" page for details).
Tuition: $8500. Tuition covers all instruction and field trips. Financial aid and student loans are available.
Optional Further Study: Graduates have several options for continuing studies including our apprenticeship programs or interning at Alderleaf.
Catalog / Ask a Question To request a Wilderness Certification Program Catalog or ask a question, fill out our
information request / contact form.
You can also call our office at (360) 793-8709.
To Apply Applications are being accepted for the 2010-2011 school year, which begins on September 15th, 2010. To apply, use our
online application
or download a
mail-in application form.
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” -Albert Einstein
Wilderness Survival: Hunter-Gatherer Living Skills
Wildlife Tracking: Interpreting Tracks and Signs
Permaculture Design: Sustainable Living Systems