woodlore
Wilderness survival skills
Woodlore is knowledge about forests and wilderness survival—how to track animals, identify plants, build shelter, find water, and navigate without modern tools.
The word evokes traditional outdoor skills passed down through generations: The old trapper's woodlore kept them alive through the winter.
Sometimes spelled as two words.
Skill of igniting flames
- flint and steelSpark-producing ignition pair
- fire bowFriction-based ignition device
- tinderCombustible material for ignition
- kindlingMaterial for starting fires
snares · trapping · cordage · knots · lashing · primitive tools · signaling · exposure
Consumable botanical matter
- mushroomsSpore-bearing fruiting bodies
- berriesSmall fleshy fruits
- nutsSeeds in shells
- rootsUnderground nutrient absorbers
wild greens · medicinal plants · herbalism · mycology · plant identification · poisonous plants · acorns · cattails
Locally transmitted ancestral understanding
- folk wisdomTraditional communal knowledge
- oral historyRecorded interviews about the past
- eldersSenior community members
- traditional craftsInherited manual artisan practices
First Nations · Aboriginal · storytelling · apprenticeship · ethnobotany · primitive skills
Competitive terrain navigation sport
- compassDevice showing cardinal directions
- landmarksDistinctive, recognizable locations
- trail markersNavigation aids on paths
- blazesIntense, spreading fires
dead reckoning · topography · watershed · ridgelines · Polaris · prevailing winds
firecraft
Skill of igniting flames
- flint and steelSpark-producing ignition pair
- fire bowFriction-based ignition device
- tinderCombustible material for ignition
kindling · snares · trapping · cordage · knots · lashing · primitive tools · signaling · exposure · hypothermia
edible plants
Consumable botanical matter
roots · wild greens · medicinal plants · herbalism · mycology · plant identification · poisonous plants · acorns · cattails · nettles
indigenous knowledge
Locally transmitted ancestral understanding
- folk wisdomTraditional communal knowledge
- oral historyRecorded interviews about the past
- eldersSenior community members
traditional crafts · First Nations · Aboriginal · storytelling · apprenticeship · ethnobotany · primitive skills
orienteering
Competitive terrain navigation sport
- compassDevice showing cardinal directions
- landmarksDistinctive, recognizable locations
- trail markersNavigation aids on paths
blazes · dead reckoning · topography · watershed · ridgelines · Polaris · prevailing winds
tracking
Monitoring location over time
- scatImprovised vocal jazz
- footprintsMarks left by walking
- burrowsAnimal-dug underground shelters
dens · game trails · birdcalls · predator · prey · migration · nesting · antlers · pelts · animal habitats
trees
Woody plants with trunks
- canopyOverhead protective covering
- underbrushDense low forest vegetation
- deciduousSheds foliage seasonally
coniferous · oak · pine · maple · birch · sapling · grove · thicket · bark · roots
woodlorestreet smarts
Practical urban knowledge
technological literacy · digital skills · domestic skills · computer literacy
wood, wooden, folklore, lore, woodland, woodlands, woodsman, woodcraft, woodman