Woodcraft is a recreational/educational program devised by
Ernest Thompson SetonErnest Thompson Seton was a Scots-Canadian who became a noted author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians, and one of the founding pioneers of the Boy Scouts of America . Seton also heavily influenced Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting...
in 1902, for young people based on camping, outdoor skills and
woodcraftWoodcraft is a recreational/educational program devised by Ernest Thompson Seton in 1902, for young people based on camping, outdoor skills and woodcrafts. Thompson Seton's Woodcraft ideas were incorporated into the early Scout movement, but also in many other organisations in many countries.In the...
s. Thompson Seton's Woodcraft ideas were incorporated into the early
Scout movementScouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, so that they may play constructive roles in society....
, but also in many other organisations in many countries.
In the UK, Quaker Ernest Westlake founded the
Order of Woodcraft ChivalryThe Order of Woodcraft Chivalry is a Scouting-like movement operating in the United Kingdom, which was founded in 1916 by Ernest Westlake. Like Scouting, it was inspired by Ernest Seton's Seton Indians, and Seton was its honourary Grand Chieftain...
in 1916. The OWC is the main, family-oriented group that holds activities and camps throughout the year in several Lodges.
John HargraveJohn Gordon Hargrave , nicknamed 'White Fox', was one of the leading figures in the Social Credit movement in British politics.Born into an itinerant Quaker family, Hargrave joined the Boy Scouts in 1908...
broke away from the OWC to found the
Kindred of the Kibbo KiftThe Kindred of the Kibbo Kift was a youth organisation in England from 1920 to 1951.-Origins:The organisation was founded by the charismatic Englishman John Hargrave , artist, author and Boy Scout Commissioner for Woodcraft and Camping, who had become disenchanted with the increasingly militaristic...
.
Woodcraft is a recreational/educational program devised by
Ernest Thompson SetonErnest Thompson Seton was a Scots-Canadian who became a noted author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians, and one of the founding pioneers of the Boy Scouts of America . Seton also heavily influenced Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting...
in 1902, for young people based on camping, outdoor skills and
woodcraftWoodcraft is a recreational/educational program devised by Ernest Thompson Seton in 1902, for young people based on camping, outdoor skills and woodcrafts. Thompson Seton's Woodcraft ideas were incorporated into the early Scout movement, but also in many other organisations in many countries.In the...
s. Thompson Seton's Woodcraft ideas were incorporated into the early
Scout movementScouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, so that they may play constructive roles in society....
, but also in many other organisations in many countries.
In the UK, Quaker Ernest Westlake founded the
Order of Woodcraft ChivalryThe Order of Woodcraft Chivalry is a Scouting-like movement operating in the United Kingdom, which was founded in 1916 by Ernest Westlake. Like Scouting, it was inspired by Ernest Seton's Seton Indians, and Seton was its honourary Grand Chieftain...
in 1916. The OWC is the main, family-oriented group that holds activities and camps throughout the year in several Lodges.
John HargraveJohn Gordon Hargrave , nicknamed 'White Fox', was one of the leading figures in the Social Credit movement in British politics.Born into an itinerant Quaker family, Hargrave joined the Boy Scouts in 1908...
broke away from the OWC to found the
Kindred of the Kibbo KiftThe Kindred of the Kibbo Kift was a youth organisation in England from 1920 to 1951.-Origins:The organisation was founded by the charismatic Englishman John Hargrave , artist, author and Boy Scout Commissioner for Woodcraft and Camping, who had become disenchanted with the increasingly militaristic...
. Another of the active, surviving UK organisations is the Woodcraft Folk, a socialist group originally affiliated with the Co-Operative movement that broke away from Kibbo Kift in the 1920s. They hold weekly meetings similar to Scouts. Another breakaway from the OWC, Forest Schools, revived after WWII to form Forest School Camps taking urban children into country areas in the UK.
Many groups were founded elsewhere in Europe in the inter-war years. Typical was the
CzechThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
Woodcraft League, founded in the 1920s by Milos Seifert; it grew in its early years but was suppressed for half a century, first by the
NazisNazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
and then by the
CommunistsCommunism is a socioeconomic structure and political ideology that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless society based on common ownership and control of the means of production and property in general. Karl Marx posited that communism would be the final stage in human...
. It survived by guile and misdirection, emerging with the fall of Communism, a small but dedicated organisation with members of all ages.
BlueSky!!!World Woodcraft was formed at an international gathering in 1996 and meets every three years, these camps alternating between the UK and Czech Republic, the two major founding members.
See also
- The Woodcraft Folk
The Woodcraft Folk is a UK-based educational movement for children and young people, and registered charity no. 1073665. The constitutional object of this youth organisation is "to educate and empower young people to be able to participate actively in society, improving their lives and others'...
- Woodcraft Indians
The League of Woodcraft Indians was an American youth program, established by Ernest Thompson Seton. Despite the name, it was developed for non-Indian boys. It was later renamed the "Woodcraft League of America", and would also allow girls to join...
- Scoutcraft
Scoutcraft is a term used to cover a variety of woodcraft knowledge and skills required by people seeking to venture into wild country and sustain themselves independently...
- Bushcraft
Bushcraft is a long-term extension of survival skills. A popular term for wilderness skills in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the term was popularised in the southern hemisphere by Les Hiddins in Australia as well as in the northern hemisphere by Mors Kochanski and recently gained...
External links