Back to nature - and how to survive in the wild

In an age where the games console is often king, youngsters are being offered the chance to reinvent themselves in the great outdoors.

Many children come home from school to battle zombies or fight wars from their bedrooms ­— but there are real-life survival skills that can be learnt.

Back2Basics is offering a route back to the days of Swallows And Amazons, running woodland camps for groups of children.

The company operates at Norwood Park, Southwell, offering youngsters an afternoon of outdoor fun around the camp-fire with activities thrown in that are often themed around times in the year such as Easter or Halloween.

It has expanded to use woodland at Kelham Hall and Country Park where it can branch out into weekend camping.

Back2Basics is operated by Aaron Cowley, who brought the idea back from America, where he spent three summers as one of 15 staff teaching 200 children at a time skills such as water-skiing and swimming, and his friend Gary Killen who served in the Armed Forces for 22 years.

Mr Cowley started a forest school because he wanted to offer something in the UK similar to what he was doing in Massachusetts.

Mr Killen was with the Royal Artillery and completed many operational tours, including Northern Ireland and the first Gulf War, in air defence.

By the end of his military career he was tutoring all three branches of the Armed Forces in air defence.

Back2Basics teaches elementary forestry skills and crafts and offers team-building, companionship and confidence-building in a fun environment.

There is basic map-reading, cooking over a camp-fire, and blindfold challenges.

'We still have a real world out there and what's the harm in exploring it?'

The move to Kelham Hall allows more scope to take youngsters further out of their comfort zones with field-craft and survival skills, shelter-making and trail-finding.

It is aimed at six to 13-year-olds, but those aged up to 16 have previously attended. There are three instructors each able to take groups of up to ten.

A school has booked a weekend camp in June that will include Friday and Saturday night under the stars.

“Some youngsters just don’t get outdoors any more in these days of electronic warfare in the bedroom where the console is the only way to experience anything,” said Mr Killen.

“We still have a real world out there and what’s the harm in exploring it?

“When they come to us they are often clinging to their mums but after an hour they are buzzing and really enjoying themselves. By the end they don’t want to go home.

“We have held several schools this year and have been very successful with 100% five-star reviews.

“It’s time to get away from technology and back to basics.”

Mr Killen is a supply teacher at the Magnus Church of England Academy, Newark, as well as being a forest school leader and ranger with Back2Basics

He said he found leaving the Army tough and struggled, like many, to adjust to civilian life.

“After 22 years I left and hit a dark time in my life. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and I had to rebuild from there,” he said.

More information is available at the Back2Basics website or by emailing aaron@Back2Basics.org.uk