School Profile

Earth Connection is an outdoor school which was founded in March of 1997 by Tim MacWelch. We are a licensed and insured business in Fauquier County, Virginia, U.S.A.

We are not the biggest or oldest school teaching primitive skills. We are however the most sincere and least cultish school teaching wilderness survival and general primitive technologies in the entire Mid-Atlantic. We are neither New Age, Hippie, Militia or Survivalist. We have no hidden agenda in our classes. We are not selling our own brand of religion or spirituality. Each class teaches what it promises to teach. We feel that our hands-on courses and personal attention provide the best way to learn primitive technology and outdoor skills. We're a small school with better service; and we're also leading the way in outdoor skills education by developing and offering ground breaking courses like Edible Plants of each season, Primitive Cooking and Fire Making techniques that you won't see anywhere else.

Our mission is to teach our students how to be comfortable and feel at home in the wilderness; and to understand the resources and history around them.

Our school teaches modern, historically and prehistorically based skills in a way that makes them relevant to modern people. We welcome students who are with us to learn skills that will keep them safe in the wilderness and students who are here to learn more about the lives of their ancestors.

Camp Information

We have moved our camp and all classes to a new location near Somerville, Virginia. Never heard of it? That's because it is a pretty small town. Apparently you're only actually in Somerville while standing in the combination Corner Store/Post Office. This rural area is rich in biodiversity, and hopefully will continue to be an excellent place for the school's new location.

There will be no electricity, phone or running water at our new camp. There are no showers. The restroom facility is our brand new outhouse. Parking is close to camp; and students will have access to their vehicles during courses.

Course Information

All of our courses are designed to offer hands-on instruction and coaching in outdoor skills and primitive technology. Class size is always limited to provide a personalized class and plenty of individual attention.

All of our courses are adult level courses for adult participants, 18 and older, SORRY BUT NO EXCEPTIONS. To join us for a class, we must have your application form and tuition at least 7 days before the first day of the course. Please go to our registration page for more information and a printable application form. You can now CHECK FOR LAST MINUTE CANCELLATIONS in our classes, which would provide you with a last minute space in that class. Please call or email for class openings.

SCHEDULE - All of our courses are run on a predetermined schedule. The days are spent learning in our camp, practicing the skills that have just been taught, and doing exercises to reinforce these skills. On overnight courses, there is usually a subject or two taught after dinner, and then the rest of the evening is spent around the campfire. Students are not expected haul water, chop wood or do any other school chores during our courses. They are only responsible for washing their own dishes and cleaning up after themselves. However, we always appreciate a little extra help when we need it.

CLASS TIMES - One day courses run from 9 am to 5 pm. Our longer courses run from 9 am to about 8 pm on the first day, 8 am to 8 pm during the course, and 8 am to 5 pm on the final day. A few breaks are also included in each day.

MEALS - Starting January of 2007, students will need to provide their own meals for all of our courses, with the exception of the Primitive Cooking course. Drinking water, washing water and snacks will be provided by us for all courses. There will be a one hour break for meal time at lunch on our one day classes; and a one hour break at breakfast, lunch and dinner on overnight classes. Our camp is located 30 minutes drive each way from the nearest restaurants, so there isn't enough time during courses for students to go out for meals. We recommend that students bring food that they can prepare while camping. Please contact us if you have any questions.

Staff Information

Tim Tim MacWelch is the founder and head instructor of Earth Connection School of Wilderness Survival and Ancient Skills. He has been a student of primitive skills for twenty years now, studying wilderness survival and primitive technologies with most of the top schools and instructors in the east. He has also been a teaching assistant and guest instructor for many of his teachers. He has independently studied Botany, and wild edible plants in particular, for the past decade. Tim's favorite primitive skill is friction fire.

Tim also has independently studied Anthropology for the past decade. Tim has spent time studying the Coastal Algonquin cultures of the Mid-Atlantic and he used this knowledge to construct an authentic Algonquin Long house for the Weems-Botts Museum in Dumfries, Virginia. That exhibit no longer exists, but this knowledge and experience is still proving useful.

Tim has been professionally teaching wilderness survival and primitive technology since he founded Earth Connection in the spring of 1997. He has been working with kids through his own youth workshops to schools, church groups, the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and other youth groups since 1995.

Hue Rick "Hue" Hueston is an explorer and naturalist of a different breed. Class adventures with him are a mixture of blind discovery and carefully thought out instruction. He uses a self-developed method for teaching that centers on the traditional Native American Medicine Wheel as metaphor. He is a curious naturalist exploring our natural world with predator vision, awareness and intuition. For the most part, he is a self-taught and self-effacing person whose chief interests in life has been to break free of society�s current technological paradigm, gain degrees of natural knowledge and slip into nature�s simplicity. Recently retired from military service, he has personal adventures and professional teaching experience that range the full spectrum of nature�s biomes. Hueston wants you to explore and learn the skills with him, instead of from him.

Jenn Jennifer MacWelch has kept this school running since it's beginning. She built this web site. She handles many administrative tasks. For years, she has stayed up to midnight cooking weeds in her kitchen the night before wild plant classes. And she developed amazing wild plant recipes. If you are here at the right time of year, you may get to taste her Acorn Pumpkin bread. This school would not exist without her hard work and patience. She has given Tim two beautiful daughters, Megan and Kaitlyn, who will hopefully follow in the family footsteps someday. And she is Tim's wife, so sorry guys, but she's spoken for.

Jamey Jamey Hueston has been assisting us for two years now, and bringing us the great outdoors from a woman's perspective (this can be a very testosterone driven "primitive Industry"). She is a great craftsperson in gourd work and a serious camping chef. Her wild greens quiche can turn even the staunchest " I don't eat quiche" guys into believers! Jamey is kind and very helpful, even teaching a stubborn old fire making dog like Tim a few new Bow Drill tricks.

Where have you seen or heard about us?

In addition to volunteering at many Boy Scout events over the years, Earth Connection has been featured in Conde Nast Traveller Magazine, the Washington Post newspaper and several local publications. We appeared on the National Geographic Today news program teaching reporter Kristin Whiting how to make a friction fire, and she got it (Jan. 18, 2001). We have also been featured live on Good Morning America teaching Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Tony Perkins the Weatherman how to make friction fire with the Bow Drill (Jan. 23, 2001). We were sponsored by Men's Journal to provide workshops at Camp Jeep 2001 (July 26-28, 2001). Earth Connection was back again at Camp Jeep 2003 (June 26-28, 2003) sponsored this time by Men's Journal and Rolling Stone Magazine.

Send mail to earthconnect@earth-connection.com with questions or comments about this web site. When sending emails to this address please state Earth Connection Request in the subject line. Emails sent with a blank subject may not be opened.
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Web site designed by Jennifer MacWelch Last modified: August 27, 2008