Name: Adult Naturalist Series | Whittling in the Woods
Start: 2025-02-08T09:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-02-08T15:00:00-05:00
Location: 3277 Gracie Rd, Cortland, NY 13045-9370, United States

Adult Naturalist Series | Whittling in the Woods

PRICE | $50-$80
REGISTRATION: https://limehollownaturecenter-bloom.kindful.com/e/adult-naturalist-series-mastering-your-knife
Join us this weekend to learn how to make a wooden cup called a Kuksa. This utensil was created by the Sami people of Scandinavia and was traditionally hung from the belt and now, you can often see it adorned by the folks in the outdoor community. This cup is a wonderful item to have for hiking, sipping coffee in the morning, or as a gift for someone special.
In this class you will:
- Learn knife use and safety
- How to use a hook knife
- Knife sharpening techniques
- Wood selection
- And go home with a Kuksa of your very own!
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
James Michael Ciesluk
James Michael Ciesluk is an educator and naturalist who is passionate about teaching others the art of tracking in nature and ancestral living skills. James Michael spends his time inspiring and teaching students to build stone tools, make fire by friction, track animals, and build shelters of all kinds.
Previously he led adult intensive classes in survival, tracking, and youth programs at Earth Native Wilderness School outside of Austin, TX. He studied wilderness skills and nature education full time at Alderleaf Wilderness College in Western Washington where he completed the school’s Wilderness Certification Program and the Alderleaf Instructor Apprenticeship. He attended Wilderness Awareness School’s Immersion program in Duvall, Washington where he further honed his naturalist, nature mentoring, wilderness skills, and volunteered as a team lead for Conservation Northwest Citizen Science Project. James Michael is certified Level III in Wildlife Track and Sign Identification and Level II in Wildlife Trailing through CyberTracker Conservation International, an international standard for evaluating the field skills of Wildlife Trackers, and is a wilderness first responder certified.
When he’s not sauntering around in the woods with students, James Michael enjoys following animal trails through the woods and honing his bushcrafting skills.