ANDERSON — EarthSkills LLC, a wilderness self-reliance school, recently opened its new teaching site on 500 acres in West Anderson.

Their newly expanded program of study begins in February with Foraging For Food & Medicine, a single-day class. EarthSkills was launched in the summer of 2013 by Alex Garcia, its principal instructor at historic Hagood Mill and Folklife Center in Pickens County.

“This addition of private land adds new opportunities for the communities EarthSkills serves. Now we offer extended, overnight courses and can also include adolescents into our circle of students,” Garcia said.

The hands-on survival classes are offered in both single and multiple day courses including evenings where the students camp out on site.

Garcia, a U.S. Army veteran and primitive skills instructor, conducts the monthly courses that encompasses the newcomer through advanced skills. Their inventory of courses now includes The 4 Vital Skills, Create Fire!, The Survival Bow for Game & Protection, and Trapping Fish and Small Game.

EarthSkills is a wilderness self-reliance school teaching primitive survival skills on two locations in the upstate. Classes are open to all including teenage students when accompanied by a paying guardian.

Call 864-979-5653 or e-mail newearthskills@gmail.com for more information.

In the Introduction to Fire & Shelter class, participants will learn to gently coax an ember into a warm fire using the bow drill method.
http://pickenssentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wildernessskillsBowDrillFire.jpgIn the Introduction to Fire & Shelter class, participants will learn to gently coax an ember into a warm fire using the bow drill method. Courtesy photos

Participants in the EarthSkills wilderness classes will learn how to make a cone trap, like the one shown here.
http://pickenssentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wildernessskillsConeTrap.jpgParticipants in the EarthSkills wilderness classes will learn how to make a cone trap, like the one shown here. Courtesy photos

If you’re in an area where crawfish are available, you can learn how to make a crawfish trap.
http://pickenssentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wildernessskillsCrawfishTrap.jpgIf you’re in an area where crawfish are available, you can learn how to make a crawfish trap. Courtesy photos

These participants are learning how to start a fire using a flint.
http://pickenssentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wildernessskillsFlintFire.jpgThese participants are learning how to start a fire using a flint. Courtesy photos

These participants are creating an Indian Fish Trap, a skill taught in the Trapping Fish & Small Game class.
http://pickenssentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wildernessskillsIndianFishTrap.jpgThese participants are creating an Indian Fish Trap, a skill taught in the Trapping Fish & Small Game class. Courtesy photos

Staff Report