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January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December

 

Always RSVP at least one week ahead of time

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January

 

Saturday, Jan. 3, 10 a.m.

FIRE WORKSHOP and Wild Food Walk, $25. Learn to make fire from bow and drill, hand drill, magnesium, flint and steel, batteries, the sun, etc. We'll also go for a short walk and collect a salad. Pasadena, Hahamongna Watershed Park, Location 2.

Saturday, Jan. 10, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD OUTING, $20. Learn how to identify edible, medicinal, poisonous, and useful plants on this leisurely walk. Hahamongna Watershed Park; entrance is at Foothill and Oak Grove Dr. in Pasadena. Meet at south end of the upper area (across the street from La Canada High School). [pg. 535, E5].

Saturday, Jan. 17, 10 a.m

WEAVING WORKSHOP, $25. Learn how to collect natural fibres and make twine, rope, brushes, sandals, netting, & baskets. A wonderful skill! Location 1, Upper Arroyo Seco.

Saturday, Jan. 24, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD COOKING WORKSHOP, $34. Weʼll go for a leisurely walk and collect wild greens and maybe mushrooms. We'll then go to the camp site and make a meal, using what we just collected as well as previously collected items. Location 2, Hahamongna Watershed Park; entrance at Foothill and Oak Grove Dr. in Pasadena. Meet at southern end of the upper area. [pg. 535, E5].

Saturday, Jan. 31, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD AND ARCHERY , $25. Join us as we explore a chaparral-riparian area, and learn about various plant uses. We'll make a salad, and then discuss various bows while we practice at the range. Bring your bow if you have one. This is south of the Rose Bowl in the Arroyo Seco, near the Archery range. Location 8.

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February

 

Sunday, Feb. 8, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD OUTING, $20. Learn how to identify edible, medicinal, poisonous, and useful plants on this leisurely walk. Location 2, Hahamongna Watershed Park; entrance is at Foothill and Oak Grove Dr. in Pasadena. Meet at south end of the upper area (across the street from La Canada High School). [pg. 535, E5].

Saturday, Feb. 14, Valentine's Day

WILD FOOD OUTING, 10 a.m., $25. Learn to identify and use some common chaparral and riparian plants in a unique "urban wilderness" location. Plus, we'll learn some weaving skills. Location 6. Arroyo Seco, north of the Rose Bowl, Pasadena. Meet at the SW corner of Washington and West. [pg. 565, E1]

Saturday, Feb. 14, 5 p.m.

VALENTINE'S DAY COMMEMORATION, at 5835 Burwood Ave, Highland Park. $8.50 donation. Just us for this WTI-sponsored event where we learn about the symbols of Valentine's Day, and view a movie. RSVP and directions at 323 620-4720.

Saturday, Feb. 21, 10 a.m.

FIRE WORKSHOP, $25. We'll practice the bow drill, hand drill, plow, pump drill, batteries, flint and steel, reflectors, etc. There will also be a short walk where you can collect some fire components, and we'll collect a wild salad. Pasadena, Hahamongna Watershed Park, Location 2.

Saturday, Feb. 28, 10 a.m

SURVIVAL SKILLS INTENSIVE, $51. We'll be in the Angeles Forest at Switzers Camp, a mix of riparian, chaparral, and higher-elevation plants. We'll learn about slings, snares, wild plants, weaving, primitive fire, etc. Switzers Camp, Location 3.

 

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March

 

Saturday, March 7, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD COOKING WORKSHOP, $34. Join us as we explore this old Native American village site. We'll collect some wild edibles, and then we'll prepare and cook a delicious meal from what we've collected, and from previously-collected foods. Location 2, Hahamongna Watershed Park.

Saturday, March 14, 10 a.m.

ORIENTEERING WORKSHOP, $25. Learn how to use a map and compass. We'll cover the basics of orienteering, plus go on a plant walk, and do fire-making. Hahamongna Watershed Park. Location 2. Bring a compass.

Sunday, March 15, 1:30 p.m.

SAINT PATRICKS DAY, , $8.50 donation, 5835 Burwood Ave., Highland Park, Join us for a discussion and movie about the themes pertaining to St. Patrick and Ireland. RSVP to Prudence at 323- 620-4720, or email Christopher.

Saturday, March 21, The Equinox, 10 a.m.

WEAVING WORKSHOP, $25. Learn how to collect natural fibres and make twine, rope, brushes, sandals, netting, & baskets. A wonderful skill! We'll also get to examine the "Angeles Forest Mystery Rock." Switzers Camp, Location 3.

Saturday, March 28, 10 a.m.

WALK IN TOWNSLEY CANYON, $20. If you are going north on the 5 freeway to Santa Clarita, you want to exit on Calgrove, go under the freeway so you are on the west side of the 5. This is Thomas Guide page 4640, E3 and E4. Drive south on The Old Road and you'll see the sign for Townsley Canyon. We'll meet right at the entrance and then we'll drive in a short distance to the dirt parking lot on the right. We'll then walk into the canyon and explore the plants and rocks of this old Tataviam site.

 

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April

 

Saturday, April 4, 10 a.m

ARCHERY AND WILD FOOD walk, . $20. Join us as we explore a chaparral-riparian area, and learn about various plant uses. This is south of the Rose Bowl in the Arroyo Seco, near the Archery range. Location 8.

April 11, 10 a.m

PREPAREDNESS SEMNAR & WILD FOOD WALK, ., $25. Are you ready for the next earthquake? Are you concerned about the reputed “end of the world” in 2012? Or are you simply a pragmatist who wants to be ready for anything? We’ll begin by discussing ways to store food, alternatives to electricity, things to store, toilet alternatives, and more. Then we’ll go on a wild food walk and collect a salad. Hahamongna Watershed Park. Location 2.

Saturday, April 18, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD OUTING , $20. Meet in Millard Canyon parking area (location 5). We’ll explore a mixed riparian and chaparral environment. [We will provide the required parking passes]

Saturday, April 25, 10 a.m.

SURVIVAL SKILLS INTENSIVE, , $51. We will focus upon edible and medicinal plants, fire-making, weaponry, water purification, and more. Meet at the west end of Altadena Drive, Altadena. [pg. 535, F4]. Location 1.

 

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May

 

Saturday, May, 2, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD OUTING, , $20. Learn about local native plants and some introduced exotics as we walk in Sierra Madre’s Bailey Canyon. Meet in the parking lot at Bailey Canyon Park. From the 210 Freeway in Arcadia, go north on Michillinda to Grand View in Sierra Madre. Turn right (east) on Grand View, then go left (north) on Lima St. one long block to Carter, where you turn left (west). You will see the park entrance on your right. Thomas Guide pg 566, J1.

Saturday, May 9, 10 a.m.

FIRE WORKSHOP and Wild Food Walk, , $25. Learn to make fire from bow and drill, hand drill, magnesium, flint and steel, batteries, the sun, etc. We’ll also go for a short walk and collect a salad. Pasadena, Hahamongna Watershed Park, Location 2.

Saturday, May 16, 10 a.m.,

DESERT SKILLS, $25. Orcas Park (Location 9), in Lake View Terrace. Location 9. We'll focus on desert survival skills, with plant ID, fire skills, water still, shelter, and more.

Saturday, May 23, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD COOKING WORKSHOP, $34. We’ll go for a leisurely walk and collect wild greens and maybe mushrooms. We’ll then go to the camp site and make a meal, using what we just collected as well as previously collected items. Location 2, Hahamongna Watershed Park; entrance at Foothill and Oak Grove Dr. in Pasadena. Meet at southern end of the upper area. [pg. 535, E5].

Saturday, May 30, 10 a.m.

WEAPONRY WORKSHOP, $25. We’ll focus on simple weapons, both primitive and modern, including snares, deadfalls, nets, slings, atlatl, and possibly the crossbow. Pasadena’s Hahamongna Watershed Park, Location 2.

 

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June

 

Saturday, June 6, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD OUTING,, $20. Learn how to identify edible, medicinal, poisonous, and useful plants on this leisurely walk. Hahamongna Watershed Park; entrance is at Foothill and Oak Grove Dr. in Pasadena. Meet at south end of the upper area (across the street from La Canada H. S.). [pg. 535, E5].

Saturday, June 13, 10 a.m.

WEAVING WORKSHOP,, $25. Learn how to collect natural fibres and make twine, rope, brushes, sandals, netting, & baskets. A wonderful skill! Location 3, Switzers Camp.

Saturday, June 20, 10 a.m.

SHELTER WORKSHOP, , $25. We’ll make at least two shelters in the forested area in this park, and also gather some wild foods. Hahamongna Watershed Park, Location 2.

Sunday June 21,

www.wtinc.info

Saturday, June 27, 10 a.m.

SURVIVAL SKILLS INTENSIVE, , $51. We’ll focus upon all the related fire skills, and also cover weaving, edible and medicinal plants, some first aid, water purification and more. Angeles National Forest, Location 4. From the Angeles Crest Highway and Foothill (or from the 210 freeway), drive 2 miles up the A.C. Hwy. (above the large houses) until you see the turnout on your right. [535, C1]

 

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July

 

Saturday, July 4, 11 a.m

Firearms introduction and a movie.  For details, go to www.wtinc.info

Saturday, July 11, 10 a.m

WILD FOOD COOKING WORKSHOP, ., $34. Besides collecting and cooking a wild plant meal, we’ll also share how to build a solar box cooker. Location 2, Hahamongna Watershed Park; entrance at Foothill and Oak Grove Dr. in Pasadena. Meet at southern end of the upper area. [pg. 535, E5].

Saturday, July 18, 10 a.m.

GOURD WORKSHOP, , $30. Each person will work on turning an ornamental gourd into a fine bowl for eating. We’ll bring tools, but if you have a good knife, hacksaw, fine files, bring them! If time, we’ll also collect wild foods and have a great salad in the bowls we just made. Location 2, Hahamongna Watershed Park; entrance at Foothill and Oak Grove Dr. in Pasadena. Meet at southern end of the upper area. [pg. 535, E5].

Saturday, July 25, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD AND ARCHERY $20. Join us as we explore a chaparral-riparian area, and learn about various plant uses. We’ll make a salad, and then discuss various bows while we practice at the range. Bring your bow if you have one. This is south of the Rose Bowl in the Arroyo Seco, near the Archery range. Location 8.

 

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August

 

Saturday, August 1, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD OUTING, , $20. We will explore the wild plants of a unique urban wildlife sanctuary, and make a nutritious wild food salad. 5835 Burwood Ave., Highland Park, CA 90042.

Saturday, August 8, 10 a.m

SURVIVAL SKILLS INTENSIVE, . $51. We’ll focus on desert survival skills, such as shelter, solar stills, etc. You’ll learn about wild edibles, how to make fire without matches, and more. Hahamongna Watershed Park, . Location 2.

Saturday, August 15, 10 a.m.

WEAVING WORKSHOP, , $25. Learn how to collect natural fibres and make twine, rope, brushes, sandals, netting, & baskets. A wonderful skill! We will also visit a unique rock, with a speculative lesson on linguistics and archaeology. Switzers Camp, Location 3.

Saturday, August 22, 10 a.m

WILD FOOD OUTING, ., $20. Join us for a walk in this park as we explore what wild foods are in season. We’ll do some collecting, and will make a wild food salad. Location 2, Hahamongna Watershed Park; entrance at Foothill and Oak Grove Dr. in Pasadena. Meet at southern end of the upper area. [pg. 535, E5].

August 23-28

DIRTTIME 2009: San Bernardino Mountains. This is a week-long event where you can learn a variety of survival skills in the company of like-minded folks. For details and reservations, go to Dirttime.com.

Saturday, August 29, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD OUTING, , $20. Location tba.

 

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September

 

Saturday, September 5, 10 a.m

BOW-MAKING WORKSHOP,., $25. We’ll cover some of the basics of primitive weaponry, and will then show how to make both a quickbow and a regular self-bow (one piece of wood). Bring your knife. If time, we will collect wild food and make a salad. Hahamongna Watershed Park, Location 2.

Saturday, September 12, 10 a.m.

FIRE WORKSHOP and Wild Food Walk, , $25. Learn to make fire from bow and drill, hand drill, magnesium, flint and steel, batteries, the sun, etc. We’ll also go for a short walk and collect a salad. Hahamongna Watershed Park, Location 2.

Saturday, September 19, 10 a.m.

ARROW-MAKING WORKSHOP,, $25. Making a good, functional arrow is harder than you think. We’ll work some shafts, glue or tie on feathers, and secure ready-made points or points you make. We’ll also have some modern arrow-making gear. Then we’ll collect a wild food salad. Hahamongna Watershed Park, Location 2.

Saturday, September 26, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD OUTING, , $20. Learn to identify and use some common chaparral and riparian plants in a unique “urban wilderness” location. Location 6. Arroyo Seco, north of the Rose Bowl, Pasadena. Meet at the SW corner of Washington and West. [pg. 565, E1]

 

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October

 

Saturday, Oct. 3, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD OUTING, , $20. We’ll walk along a foothill stream learning how to identify common wild edibles. Bring your bowl for a salad! Altadena, Location 1.

Saturday, Oct. 10, 10 a.m.

OCEAN FIELD TRIP, , $20 We’ll hike along the beach to examine the plants that grow on the beach, and seaweeds. We’ll see lots of seabirds. We’ll then walk up Malibu Creek a short distance and explore some fruit trees gone wild. We’ll meet in the parking area of the Malibu Lagoon State Beach. The entrance is on the ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway, just east of Cross Creek Road in Malibu. Thomas Guide page 629, B7. You can either pay to park in the State Beach parking lot, or park in the shopping center at Cross Creek and PCH. We’ll share a short lesson on Columbus’ role in the Americas.

October 17, 10 a.m.

FIRE WORKSHOP and Wild Food Walk, Saturday, , $25. Learn to make fire from bow and drill, hand drill, magnesium, flint and steel, batteries, the sun, etc. We’ll also go for a short walk and collect a salad. Hahamongna Watershed Park, Location 2.

Saturday, October 24, 10 a.m

SURVIVAL SKILLS INTENSIVE, ., $51. Increase your survival skills. In this 5 to 6 hour class, you'll learn how to make fire without matches, build a sturdy emergency shelter, make soap from plants, weave rope and baskets from natural materials, gather wild plants for food, and more. Switzer's Camp, in the Angeles National Forest. From the 210 fwy. in La Canada, drive north on the Angeles Crest Hwy about 10 miles (going towards Mt. Wilson). When you see the Switzer's sign, drive down the road and meet in the parking area.

Saturday, Oct. 31, 10 a.m

WILD FOOD COOKING, ., $34. Join us on this Halloween Day plant identification walk. We will collect wild foods, and then we’ll make acorn pancakes, cactus omelette, salad, and other dishes with pumpkins and persimmons. Hahamongna Watershed Park, Location 2.

 

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November

 

Saturday, November 7, 10 a.m.

CLAY WORKSHOP, , $25. We'll collect and process "wild" clay, plus we'll work with clay from the craft shop. You'll learn some basics, plus how to make fire. We'll also cover wild edibles. Hahamongna Watershed Park, Location 2.

Saturday, November 21, 10 a.m.

WILD FOOD COOKING WORKSHOP, , $34. Is it possible to “be thankful” for the wild foods that we can so readily collect? We'll collect some wild edibles, and then we'll prepare and cook a delicious wild Thanksgiving meal. Location tba.

 

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December

 

Saturday, Dec. 26, 10 a.m.

SURVIVAL SKILLS, , $51. The hills will be quiet and peaceful (we hope). We’ll cover all the basics, such as fire, shelter, plant ID, weaving, etc., and discuss the meaning of many of the season’s symbols. Location 1, Arroyo Seco.

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Locations

VIEW MAP HERE


Location 1

Upper Arroyo. West end of Altadena Drive, Alt. 3 blocks west of Lincoln [pg. 535, F4].

Location 2
Hahamongna Watershed Park; entrance at Foothill and Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena. Meet at south end of the upper area (across from La Canada High School), near the outdoor bathrooms. One way to get here is to travel on the 210 Freeway westbound, and exit on Foothill in La Canada. Turn right (east) and take Foothill about a half-mile to its end, which is the entrance of the park. [pg. 535, E5].

Location 3
Switzer’s Camp, Angeles National Forest. From the 210 freeway in La Canada, drive up the Angeles Crest Highway 10 miles to Switzers. You will see the large sign on the Highway. Drive down the road and park in the parking lot. Meet near the bridge. [pg. 505, H2]

Location 4
Angeles National Forest. From the Angeles Crest Highway and Foothill (or from the 210 freeway), drive 2 miles up the Angeles Crest Highway (above the large new houses) until you see the turnout on your right. You really need to look at your odometer for this one. [535, C1] .

Location 5
Millard Canyon, Altadena. Drive up to Loma Alta by going north on either Fair Oaks (from the east) or Lincoln Ave. (on the west). From Loma Alta in Altadena, go north on Chaney Trail all the way to the campground. [pg. 535, H2]

Location 6
Arroyo Seco, north of the Rose Bowl, Pasadena. Meet at the SW corner of Washington and West. Be sure to look at your map here, for more people seem to get lost finding this location than any other. The Rose Bowl is easy to find – and West is the north-south street on the west side of the Rose Bowl. You can simply drive north on West to the top of the T intersection, and park to your left in the dirt parking. Washington is the east-west street that dissects the golf course; so if you come from the east side of the golf course and the Rose Bowl, drive west on Washington until it ends in the T intersection, and then just drive forward into the dirt parking area. [pg. 565, E1].

Location 7
Cobb Estate, Extreme north end of Lake Ave., Altadena. Exit on Lake Avenue from the 210 freeway and head for the hills. [pg. 536, A3]

Location 8
Casting Ponds, Arroyo Seco. Entrance to "Lower Arroyo Park" is from Arroyo Blvd, just west of Norwood Drive. Where the 210 meets the 134 freeway in Pasadena, stay in the left lane and go south on the short extension which ends at California Blvd. Turn right (west) on California, and travel to where it ends, at Arroyo Blvd. Turn right (north) on Arroyo Blvd. and look for the sign on your left for the Lower Arroyo Park. Drive down the road and park. [pg 565, F5].

Location 9
Orcas Park. NE of Hansen Dam, in Lake View Terrace. From the 210, exit Osborne and go east on Foothill to Orcas Ave., then go south into the park. We’ll meet in the southern-most parking area. [pg. 503, A2]

 

Reservations

There are several preferred ways to reserve a spot on an outing

Send us a note specifying for what date, and how many people, along with a check, to School of Self-reliance, Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041. If you mail it "late," just call us and let us know it is in the mail.

Call or email us and let us take a credit card for payment for the outing. Call the office at 626-791-3217, or 323-255-9502. Or email to christopher_nyerges@yahoo.com. If no one is there when you call, just leave your name and number and message and we’ll get back to you.

You can also make a payment via paypal to Christopher_nyerges@yahoo.com. On the paypal comment section, be sure to note what date and class you are paying for, along with how many you're paying for, if more than one...We will get an email letting us know you’ve paid.


Though we prefer to not do this on the outings, we will not turn you away if you didn’t do any of the above. We can accept cash or check (or even credit card) at the outing, and give you a receipt, if desired.


DON’T FORGET: You can give a Gift Certificate to a friend or family member to attend a class. Just ask.