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Since 2007 our Michigan company been teaching people how to thrive in the wild. We offer training in survival, bushcraft, emergency survival, identifying and using edible and medicinal plants, making plant based medicines, building shelter, making fire, finding and purifying water, setting snares, setting deadfalls and other traps, survival fishing, and day and night land navigation, etc. We also lead edible and medicinal plant walks, and teach classes in making powerful herbal medicines from the medicinal plants which surround us.

I hope you find the information contained in the hundreds of pages comprising this website to be useful. Drop me a line and tell me what you think of the site. If you like, I will add you to our mailing list, and you will receive my highly informative quarterly newsletter. Along with this newsletter, you will receive notices of upcoming events and classes.

What is Living Afield? Living Afield means getting back in touch with the natural world. It means eating healthier, spending more time out of doors. It means reconnecting with the world around us. It means eating wild foods, and using the medicinal properties of plants to heal body and spirit.

In days of old, forests were dark foreboding places filled with peril. Fairy tales were written to scare children into staying away from these terrifying places. These stories were filled with witches and ogres waiting to devour little children. Over the years, these stories have been altered in order to appear cute and fuzzy. The original ideas for their drafting seem outdated and ridiculous by today's standards. However most people rarely venture into the natural world. We become so entangled in the day to day drudgery of our lives, that we fail to see the beauty and bounty that surrounds us each and every day. Whether it is kayaking, hiking, camping, or some other outdoor activity, the peace and serenity of the natural world can nourish our spirits. Get out and enjoy what nature has to offer. Because... "Adventure awaits beyond the beaten path" Sincerely,

Kirk A Wahl
Owner, Living Afield

Knowledge is power!!! Our wilderness survival classes are a bit different than most of the others out there. We do not follow any military protocol. Training is neither timed nor stress induced. Upon completion of our course, you will not receive any awards, certificates, patches, or plaques. If you want that type of training, there are plenty of "schools" who offer it. If however you want to have fun whle learning the basic skills you will need to thrive in any environment or situation, then Living Afield is definitely the school for you... (Learn More)

Our guided plant walks allow you get up close, hands on, time with a multitude of edible and medicinal plants. Our walks are held in areas rich in plant life. If you want to have fun learning how to locate, identify, and make use of some of the most common plants surrounding us each day, then a Living Afield plant walk should be at the top of your to do list... (Learn More)

Our plant based medicines course teaches you how to prepare powerful botanical medicines from the plants that surroud us. We also discuss the efficacy of each type of preparation and their recommended dosages. With a little knowledge, you can learn to safely heal yourself and those around you with the nourishing and medicinal benefits of plants... (Learn More)

Since the dawn of Man, plants have been used as sources of food, medicine, and shelter. They continue to be an important part of the natural world even today. Plants are the foundation for all other living things. If not for plants and photosynthesis, we would not have the oxygen we breath. As if supplying our oxygen is not enough, many of drugs used by western medicine were originally derived from plants. Our plants pages provide detailed information about various common and useful plants... (Learn More)

Mushrooms can be a wonderful addition to your diet. There are however mushrooms that can make you severely ill, or even kill you. It is therefore imperative that you properly identify any mushroom you plan to eat. Our mushroom page lists some of the most widespread and useful edible and medicinal mushrooms... (Learn More)

Studies have shown that by literally getting back in touch with the earth we can immediately lower our cortisol levels, and reverse many of our ills. The practice of grounding or earthing, having our skin touching the ground, can have a profound effect on both our physical and emotional health. Multi-disciplinary research has shown that sitting or walking barefoot outdoors for a minimum of 3o minutes each day significantly reduces cortisol levels a stress hormone, increases blood viscocity, lowers blood pressure, reduces inflammation, increases wound healing, increases the immune system, and reduces chronic pain... (Learn More)

If you listen to many of the shows on television, certain "survival experts" would have you believe survival entails hunkering down under a tree in the forest, fighting everything mother nature throws at you, and making it through. It is all about going toe to toe with, and beating the old girl at her own game. Yea, no. Visit our survival pages for information on all of the most important information to help you thrive in the natural world... (Learn More)