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Semester Syllabus
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Why should I consider the Southwest Semester Program?
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There are lots of reasons why you should consider the Southwest Semester
Program, but several are especially important. First, consider the setting:
Arizona. We have six of the seven world's lifezones, in which to explore,
travel, and practice wilderness skills. From the Sonoran Desert to the Grand
Canyon to the Painted Desert and San Francisco Mountains, we truly have it
all. It is possible to be in the mountains tracking in the snow and then
drive an hour south and be studying plant uses in the warmth of a canyon.
You will experience a tremendous array of survival skills and environments not found
at any other wilderness program in North America. Think of Arizona as your school.
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The second reason is our location to native American tribal lands. We have
the highest concentration of native languages and cultures found anywhere in
North America and you will spend time with Hopi guides,
learning from those who have walked this land for thousands of years. Along
the way, we will also explore some of the finest prehistoric cliff-dwellings, rock-art, and Anasazi ruins in the Southwest. You will walk
away with a deeper understanding of how the ancient cultures lived in this
land while learning the primitive living skills on a daily basis- from
making fire-by-friction in the old way to flintknapping stone tools and
harvesting edible plants, to name a few.
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Finally, you will be living in the outdoors
for nine weeks solid, learning
valuable time-tested wilderness skills and gaining a greater connection to
the natural world.
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Oh, one more thing - there's the sunshine. The Flagstaff region is known for
having 300+ days of sunshine a year! Welcome to the Southwest Semester
Program.
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Our Traditional Skills Semester program
will focus on many important outdoor skills and crafts. The
following is a breakdown of the learned skills you will acquire
from our hands-on instruction.
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Core Outdoor Skills and Topics
Emphasizing a holistic approach to embracing the outdoors, we divide our time between the following
survival skills and topics.
Bushcraft and Survival Skills
Primitive and modern firemaking, shelter construction, water location for arid regions, primitive cooking methods, basketry,
bowmaking, flintknapping, mountain and cold-weather survival, specialized desert skills, traditional fishing methods,
and ultralight
travel methods.
Native American and Southwest Archeology
Native cultures of Northern Arizona, fieldtrips to the Hopi Mesas and tribal lands, archeoastronomy, ethnobotany,
and traditional plant uses, fieldtrips to rock-art and prehistoric sites, primitive pottery, weaving cordage
and nets.
Outdoor Skills and Environmental Studies
Navigation with and without a compass, knots and ropecraft, use of the ax and saw, backcountry sanitation, geology, weather,
desert ecology, Southwest natural history and Grand Canyon studies, physiology of humans in the heat
and cold, wilderness and literature, environmental ethics.
Mammal Tracking and Wildlife Studies
Fundamental mammal tracking skills, cougar tracks and signs, field measurements and data collection methods, gait interpretation
and reading the stories in tracks, plaster casting, skull and scat analysis, stalking skills, wildlife photography, mammals of the
Southwest. |
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Click
Here for the Survival Course Schedule
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