Syracuse.com - CNY primitive skills group helps participants get back in touch with nature

[HuntingNY-News]

"It's like stepping back in time." Frank Ordonez/The Post-StandardSean Cornell instructs Dawn Cornell in shooting and arrow during a CNY Primitive Skills Group session in Pompey. By Jon Krouner Contributing writer Want to carve and shoot your own bow and arrow like Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games?”Then, join the Central New York Primitive Skills Group for one of its, twice-monthly meetings held on 59 acres of woodlands in Pompey.At the meet-ups, adults and children learn wilderness survival techniques like animal tracking, bird song identification and how to differentiate between edible and poisonous plants.It all began back in 2008, when Jon Harshbarger was looking for a group or class to share his love of nature. He said he was disappointed by a dearth of options in the Syracuse area.“Syracuse is devoid of these types of programs,” he said.Harshbarger lives in Jamesville with his wife, Laura, who is an attorney, and their three children, ages, 4, 7 and 10. He has a master’s degree in outdoors education, is a stay-at-home dad who also drives a school bus.Anxious share his passion for the outdoors, Harshbarger formed his own outdoors group, opening it up to the public for free, using the Meetup.com Web site to put the word out. He scheduled get-togethers at preserves, marshlands and conservatories around Central New York.His first respondent was Sean Cornell, 32, a senior and conservation biology major at SUNY-ESF.Frank Ordonez/The Post-StandardEthan Harshbarger, 10, throws an arrow during a primitive bow and arrow session of the the CNY Primitive Skills Group which assembles on a personal property in Pompey.Together, Jon and Sean pooled their knowledge of the wilderness with the idea of building an “outdoors-minded” community.His first respondent was Sean Cornell, 32, a senior and conservation biology major at SUNY-ESF.Together, Jon and Sean pooled their knowledge of the wilderness with the idea of building an outdoors-minded community.Last year, the success of his meet-ups inspired Harshbarger to purchase the 59 acres off Route 91. The idea was to stage the outdoors meet-ups at one location, rather than bouncing around the area.The property, formerly known as the Pompey Heritage Farm, includes more than a half dozen buildings and cabins. One houses a woodworking shop; another an apple cider press. Harshbarger has renamed the property, the Waykeeper Primitive Skills School, and has already put into motion plans to offer more formal, paid classes and seminars there.Harshbarger said he’s noticed a rise in public awareness of survival skills during the past few years due to reality shows like “Survivorman” and “Man vs. Wild.”Interest piqued with the smashing success of “The Hunger Games” trilogy and its recent theatrical release.Harshbarger said he got the idea for the bow-making class when a friend told him that his 14-year-old daughter wanted to make her own bow just like Katniss.The bow-making clinic, which recently took place over the course of three days, drew more than 30 participants, he said. Each paid $40 to help cover expenses.“We took everyone from stave to shooting,” Harsbarger said. “We used B-50 dacron (a synthetic, waxed nylon material) for the strings because we had so many people. Typically, we would have used (animal sinew), plant fibers or rawhide.”Rick Schamp, who has been to several of the meet-ups, said that he started attending after being laid from his job at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Schamp said that he was tired of staring at a computer all day and the Primitive Skills Group gave him a chance to re-awaken his love of nature.Meet-ups typically include 7 to 8 people and are tailored around learning one skill, like building a fire through friction or making rope from plant fibers. Other classes include “Edible Plants” in which Cornell and Harshbarger teach which plants are safe to eat throughout the property.“There are a few people with economic issues that want to know what they can eat in their yard,” Cornell joked.While Cornell and Harshbarger don’t hunt on the property, both agreed some of their classes would be helpful to hunters.For example, the “Bird Language” segment could help a hunter “recognize a song, from an alarm call.” “Animal Tracking” shows where animals are headed by following footprints and disturbed bushes.At all the meet-ups, attendees observe and participate in nature by using their senses and instincts, rather than relying on modern electronic crutches like GPS devices.“It’s like stepping back in time,” Harshbarger said. “Next month we’re going to make bark baskets and collect wild strawberries.”WANT TO JOIN? To find out more about the Central New York Primitive Skills Group, see the Meetup Web site. There’s no charge. For information on the Waykeeper Primitive Skills School, see Facebook.

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