Wild Child

If you were stranded in the wilderness with only the clothes on your back, a harmonica and a Leatherman multi-tool, could you survive? Les Stroud could. The star of Survivorman does just that on a regular basis for the television show. And if you've never gotten a chance to see Stroud survive — or if you can't get enough of him — then head to the Boulder REI, 1789 28th Street in Boulder, at 7 p.m. for the Cottonwood Institute's Survivorman Movie Night.

Cottonwood's Ford Church says the plan is to show an episode of Survivorman, then follow it with a discussion. "All the skills we’re going to talk about are applicable to different ecosystems," Church notes. "You still want to think about: What are my survival priorities, and what do I need to address first? Usually shelter is your first consideration, then we'll talk about fire, water, rescue, food. In every episode, it's not always textbook.

"I try to get across to folks that you can definitely read books and go to these presentations, but if you really want to get these skills down in case you ever need them, we have a survival course for adults," Church adds. To learn more, visit www.cottonwoodinstitute.org or ask about it at tonight's presentation, which is free. Call 303-447-1076 for information.
Thu., April 3, 7 p.m., 2008