PLAN TO SURVIVE

The X Platoon Junior Wilderness Survivor Course has been designed to provide children and young adults with an introduction to the skills and techniques they will require, if they are to successfully operate or and even survive in the wilderness. X Platoon will give them the confidence and ability to understand their surroundings and the environment, protect themselves from the elements, source and purify water, light a fire using everyday items and then determine a direction of travel using the sun, stars and the moon. 
 
This course will put them (and you) in the heart of the woods with the aim of starting or enhancing their lifelong love of The Great Outdoors. The course runs for 2 days and 1 night and is open to all aged 7 - 16. 

​This is a Stage One introductory course for young people and is based around our Wilderness Survivor Course, this course requires that our Junior Wilderness Survivors are accompanied by an adult, the adult place is free so only book for 1 junior place. This is a great opportunity for you both to work together, but do bear in mind that the emphasis will be on our young survivors to ensure that they get the most from the course.

COURSE CONTENT

Protection

Starting from scratch we will school you in the key stages of survival and allow you the opportunity to practice each skill until you are confident that you could do it under austere conditions, when you are tired, hungry and wet and feel that you are alone in the wilderness. The fundamental skills you will learn include:
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  • Ensure you are protected from any further harm
  • Establish a shelter to protect you from the elements
  • Working with natural resources to improve your shelter
  • Overcome survival stresses and negatives
  • Follow the survival PLAN​​

Fire

Firelighting is without doubt the most rewarding of survival skills, it stretches back to our hunter gathering days and can restore a sense of well being to any situation, as well as provide warmth, cook food and purify water. ​
Things we cover include:
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  • Fire lighting with flint and steel, plus improvised methods using a range of items and materials
  • Use of fire for warmth, cooking and purifying water
  • Signalling fires for rescue

Water

Without water you will die, so knowing how to locate, collect, store and purify water is possibly one of the most important survival skills to have. Things to learn include:

  • Locating water
  • Water sources
  • Problems associated with lack of water and common pitfalls of water management
  • Collecting and purifying water using improvised water filters

Food

Locating, identifying, gathering and preparing food is extremely challenging in a survival situation, getting it wrong can cause severe medical conditions and even lead to death. We cover:

  • Locating food in the wild
  • Identifying edible foods such as plants, berries and fruit
  • Recognising medical conditions associated with dangerous food sources
  • Preparing cook and store food

Camp Craft

If you have to survive for any length of time then you must establish your base camp and adopt a sustainable routine until help arrives. Routines include:

  • Personal equipment and clothing
  • Hygiene and health management including long term latrines
  • Routines and essential tasks
  • Safe use of knives, saws and axes and how to sharpen them

Navigation

Being able to navigate to safety could be the difference between life and death so understanding the techniques for survival navigation are vital. Techniques include:

  • ​​Finding direction using the sun and a watch
  • Find the east west travel line using the sun
  • Reading stars in the sky
  • Use of ground

BOOK YOUR COURSE HERE

Junior Wilderness Survivor Course

£150.00

The X Platoon Junior Wilderness Survivor Course has been designed to provide children and young adults with an introduction to the skills and techniques they will require if they are to successfully operate or and even survive in the wilderness. X Platoon will give them the confidence and ability to understand their surroundings and the environment, show them how protect themselves from the elements, source food and water and then light a fire using only what is available from the land. 
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COURSE DETAILS
Suggested Equipment
Once you have completed your booking a full equipment list and locations map will be provided. As a minimum you will need to bring the following items: Sleeping bag and outer waterproof cover (bivi bag), waterproof jacket and trousers, warm spare clothes, sturdy footwear, torch (head torch if possible), cooking pot or mess tins, cup, water bottle and a sharp knife.
 
Course Timings
All courses start at 11am on their start date and typically finish around 3pm on the end date.
 
Food
All food will be provided for you during your training so please do not bring your own, you may bring a small amount of snacks  if you wish. If you have any specific dietary requirements then please make us aware at your time of booking.
 
Location
A detailed locations map will be provided once your booking is confirmed, but our training area is situated midway between the A1 and A19 motorways for ease of transport and on site parking is available free of charge. If you are travelling by train then the nearest station is Durham National Rail Station (DH1 4RB) which is 6 miles from our site, so it will be necessary to take a taxi the remaining few miles to the training area. The training area is self contained and you will spend the majority of your time with us on this site, the training has been designed to allow for maximum learning that is delivered with a sense of fun.