Primitive to Practical: Emergency Shelter Techniques
Primitive to Practical: Emergency Shelter Techniques
In a true survival situation, shelter isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity. Exposure to the elements can become life-threatening within hours, especially in extreme cold, wind, or rain. If you’re heading into the wilderness, preparing for emergencies, or just brushing up on outdoor skills, knowing how to build a solid shelter can be the difference between comfort and catastrophe. This post looks at what both ancient wisdom and modern tools have to offer when it comes to emergency shelter techniques.
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Traditional Root Beer Recipe
Brew Your Own Root Beer
Traditional Root Beers, Birch Beers, and Ginger Beers: A Taste of the Past
Before soda fountains and modern soft drinks dominated the beverage scene, communities around the world enjoyed naturally fermented drinks made from roots, herbs, barks, and spices. These old-world brews not only satisfied a sweet tooth but also offered nutritional and medicinal benefits. Today, we explore the fascinating world of traditional root beers, birch beers, and ginger beers—their histories, how they were made, and how you can make your own.
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Walk With a Possum Mindset
The Possum Mindset: An Inspired Way to Walk the Land
There’s a subtle but powerful difference between walking through nature and moving with it. At Forgotten Skillz, we teach that survival isn’t just about gear or knowledge—it’s about presence, adaptability, and the ability to notice what others miss. This is the heart of what we call the Possum Mindset.
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Colonial Cooking Tips & Tools
Colonial Cooking: Rediscovering Outdoor Heritage
In a world of modern stoves, prepackaged meals, and microwave dinners, there’s something deeply grounding about colonial cooking and preparing a meal the way our ancestors did—with fire, iron, and instinct. Historical cooking, especially from the colonial American period, is more than a novelty. It’s a chance to connect with the rhythms of the natural world, learn practical survival skills, and bring forgotten flavors back to life.
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Spring Foraging on Long Island for Beginners
Reconnecting with the Land: The Forgotten Skill of Foraging
Foraging on Long Island is more than just gathering wild plants—it’s a practice that has sustained humanity for thousands of years. Long before supermarkets and industrial agriculture, our ancestors relied on their knowledge of the land to find food and medicine. Every civilization, from the Indigenous peoples of North America to early European settlers, carried deep traditions of harvesting from nature’s pantry. Even today, foraging remains an essential part of daily life in many cultures, with communities across Long Island—especially those of European and Asian descent—continuing the practice in parks, coastal marshes, and even along highways.
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Best Survival Water Filters: LifeStraw vs. Sawyer vs. Gravity Bags
Choosing the Best Survival Water Filters
Finding clean drinking water is one of the most critical survival skills, whether you’re hiking in the backcountry, prepping for emergencies, or ensuring access to safe water during a natural disaster. Contaminated water can carry bacteria, protozoa, and even viruses that cause serious illness, making access to safe drinking water a top priority for survivalists, preppers, and outdoor enthusiasts alike. In a survival situation, dehydration can become deadly within three days, and drinking untreated water can lead to life-threatening diseases such as cholera, dysentery, and giardiasis.
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Long Island Wildfires: S’mores Gone Wrong
Long Island Brushfires:
The Pine Barrens, Fire Safety,& the Balance of Nature
This past weekend, wildfires erupted across the East End of Long Island, igniting in Center Moriches and spreading eastward along Sunrise Highway due to high winds. The cause? A family making s’mores, who unknowingly made a critical fire safety mistake—using cardboard as kindling. Cardboard is notorious for producing floating embers, which, in dry or windy conditions, can travel for miles, sparking secondary fires far beyond the original site.
This incident serves as a stark reminder that fire safety is not just about how we start a fire, but how we control, maintain, and extinguish it. It also highlights the unique fire-dependent ecosystem of the Long Island Pine Barrens, where wildfires play an essential role in maintaining ecological health—yet pose a growing risk to homes, businesses, and human safety.
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5 Water Purification Methods for Camping & Survival
Why Water Purification is Essential
Water is the foundation of life, but drinking untreated water can lead to severe health risks. Even clear, flowing water in the wild can contain harmful bacteria, parasites, and chemical contaminants that cause dehydration, vomiting, and even deadly illnesses. Understanding how to purify water properly, and knowing several different water purification methods, is crucial for survival, whether you’re in a wilderness setting, experiencing an emergency, or simply looking to improve your preparedness skills.
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Primitive Fire-Starting Methods: Pros, Cons & Best Gear
Introduction: Why Learn Primitive Fire-Starting Methods?
Fire has been a crucial survival skill for thousands of years, shaping human civilization and enabling us to cook food, stay warm, and protect ourselves. Long before modern lighters and matches, our ancestors developed innovative primitive fire-starting methods to create fire using only natural materials and simple tools.
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Blydenburgh Park Restoration Update
The Collapse of Stump Pond Dam at Blydenburgh Park: What Happened?
A Sudden & Significant Loss
Blydenburgh Park, one of Long Island’s most treasured natural spaces, has undergone significant changes since the collapse of the Stump Pond dam in August 2024. The dam failure led to the rapid drainage of Stump Pond, drastically altering the landscape and affecting both wildlife and recreational access. In the immediate aftermath, many species dependent on the pond for habitat were displaced, and the park’s accessibility for fishing, kayaking, and hiking was severely impacted.
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