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John Muir Award

About Badger Bushcraft

Phil Brown

phil-brownPhil was fortunate to have grown up surrounded by the wonders of the natural world in the tranquil Kent village of Weald. His passion for natural history started at a very early age during long walks in the countryside with his parents and one of the many faithful dogs Phil has been privileged to share his life with.

Phil’s parents gave him a degree of freedom to wander the woods, fields and countryside that is seldom experienced by young people today and his love of nature was always gently encouraged. He had not heard of the turn of phrase “bushcraft” in the 1970s – but many of the areas encompassed in this now well known and awe inspiring term were the common place and everyday events during his childhood - be that foraging for wild foods, cooking over a camp fire, watching local wildlife, whittling or just being at one with “The Nature”.

Phil has taught bushcraft, survival skills, wild foods, foraging and nature awareness internationally to instructor level. He was also an instructor and assessor on many of the NCFE recognised bushcraft qualifications.

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Why Choose Badger Bushcraft?

teaching-boyWith decades of experience, both in business and with bushcraft skills, Badger Bushcraft offer a second to none personal and professional service. We invest heavily in top quality kit, vehicles, sites and industry recognised training.

Continued professional development is of paramount importance and something that is taken very seriously at Badger Bushcraft. Phil’s current qualifications and certificates include:

  • NCFE Level 3 Certificate In Bushcraft Leadership
  • NCFE Level 3 Primitive Technology
  • NCFE Level 3 Certificate in Creative Craft
  • Diploma in Business Performance Coaching
  • Basic Expedition Leadership Award
  • First Aid at Work Certificate
  • Fully Enhanced CRB/DBS
  • Child Protection Training for Extended Services Providers
  • Basic Disability Training for Extended Services Providers
  • Institute for Outdoor Learning – “2009 IOL Bushcraft Practitioner” (now The IOL Foundational Bushcraft Competency Certificate)
  • Childrens' University Affiliated Learning Destination
  • John Muir Award – Discovery Award In Recognition of Awareness and Responsibility for Wild Places
  • NPTC Level 2 Award in Chainsaw and Related Operations:
    • CS30.1 Chainsaw Maintenance
    • CS30.2 Cross-cut and Stack Small Diameter Timber using a Chainsaw
  • NPTC Level 2 Award for Felling and Processing Small Trees:
    • CS31 Fell and Process Small Trees
  • Level 2 Award in Food Safety in Catering
  • “Clean” Driving Licence with categories B, BE, C1, C1E, D1 and D1E.
  • 4x4 Driving - Land Rover Experience Level One
  • 2011 National Bowdrill Competition Winner
  • "Welcome Host" Certificate from South East England Tourist Board

Phil has also recently completed the Mountain Leader Award (ML) Training with The National Mountain Centre at Plas y Brenin and is accruing sufficient quality mountain days to complete the logbook prior to assessment.

Our insurance is provided by acknowledged specialists to include Public and Products Liability for £5,000,000.00 and Employers' Liability for £10,000,000.00 with Errors and Omissions for £100,000.00 in respect of the following activities:

  • Bushcraft Instruction
  • Wild Camping
  • Navigation
  • Wild Foods
  • Outdoor Cooking
  • Primitive Crafts

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Professional and Qualified Assistant Instructors.

All of our Assistant Instructors are selected due to their experience, approachable teaching style, competence and their passion for teaching. Many of our Assistant Instructors hold qualifications and current certificates to include at least:

  • NCFE Level 3 Certificate In Bushcraft Leadership
  • Basic Expedition Leadership Award
  • Advanced Explorer First Aid Certificate
  • First Aid at Work Certificate
  • Fully Enhanced CRB
  • Public and Products Liability for £5,000,000.00

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Read More About Phil

An Ashford Herald article entitled "Learn survival skills with Kent's Ray Mears" from Thursday 23rd February 2012 reproduced with the Editor's kind permission below:

"FOUR buzzards mewed and circled above the trees as Phil Brown teased pieces of dead bark from a birch he would use to light the fire.

"I can rub sticks together, if you like, but this will be quicker," he says, as he laid some twigs of equal length in a row with the birch bark in the middle before dropping bright sparks by striking steel and flint together. Within a minute or two the fire was lit and a billycan perched on the side ready to make coffee.

Phil specifically chose the birch as it contains oils that catch light easily and chose only dead wood off the ground, not on it.

"The last place you will be looking for firewood is on the ground – get the stuff off the ground from the trees where it's likely to have been wind-dried," explains the 41-year-old from Egerton as his black Labrador Inca scampers around him excitedly.

Within ten minutes of jumping out of his Land Rover, he has imparted enough information for a small handbook. He clearly knows what he's on about.

Did anyone know that honeysuckle bark is good for lighting fires? It is.

Phil says that wood sorrel – it looks a little like a sprig of large clover – tastes of apple skin. It does indeed.

As we go on a forage, cups in hand, he chances on a black fungus on a fallen ash branch called King Alfred's Cakes (the ones he burnt) is ringed inside like a tree and burns almost better and longer than charcoal.

Then he points out that the soft fruit of a hawthorn berry is nutritious but the seed contains traces of cyanide.

A little further along, what seemed to be a fox dropping turned out to be the regurgitated fur and bone "pellet", probably from a barn owl.

There is much, much more besides.

Everything Phil does, each throwaway comment or off-the-cuff observation contains a nugget for the uninitiated. Much of his knowledge bank stems from a childhood spent in the woods and fields around the family home at Weald, near
Sevenoaks.

"We always had dogs in the family and I did a lot of the walking. I had fairly liberal parents who just let me wander around the place, bird watching, learning about animals and plants and the like.

"I got books and binoculars. I suppose that's where it all started," he says.

We're in a small clearing in 120 acres of woodland (there is another 43-acre site outside Egerton) he uses to ply his trade, and the spot marks the area where he intends to hoist a canopy between three large oaks. Here, he will host lessons on bushcraft, take expeditions, teach survival, go camping and watch wildlife, among others.

Phil takes individuals, families and groups, tailoring their experience depending on their needs, limitations or desires.

Far more satisfying for the father-of-one is to take his work into schools, with talks and plenty of interactive show and tell sessions.

"Some teachers will sometimes point out one lad in a class and suggest he might be a bit of trouble as he has a reputation for disruptive behaviour.

"But nearly every time that's happened the boy in question has been absolutely rapt and has taken far more from the sessions than the others. That is incredibly rewarding."

Phil clearly does not mind the comparisons to Ray Mears, the survival expert on TV, who seems to take the direst adversity in his stride, armed with an encyclopaedic knowledge of flora and fauna.

"I did one of Ray Mears's courses and met the man, albeit briefly. A thoroughly, thoroughly nice guy."

A bit like Phil Brown, actually."

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Contact Badger Bushcraft

T:01233 756447

M:07768 201177

E:info@badgerbushcraft.com

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Bespoke Bushcraft Courses

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Let us design a programme to your needs, including bushcraft, survival skills, primitive technology, nature education, backwoods cooking or any other related subject.

"Phil the group leader & his assistant were superb at their jobs. Full of knowledge and enthusiasm & very conscientious with regard to safety and including all the participants."

LA, Kent
Family Learning Day 2010

Bushcraft For Schools

Bushcraft for Schools

Bushcraft and Nature Based Learning events aimed at fulfilling key criteria of the National Curriculum.