Course Information

The Wilderness Survival Institute (WSI) teaches Outdoor and Mountain Safety and Survival Education courses. The courses vary in length from two to twenty-four hours. Our instructional methods include presentation, discussion, audio visual, demonstration, and hands on.

The following courses are offered and involve classroom and/or field sessions.

Wilderness Survival - Classroom Sessions

The Wilderness Survival course is a basic common sense approach to wilderness survival. The course develops an awareness in the students of being prepared for the outdoors and what to do in the event that they are lost. It teaches them that yes it can happen to me. The students learn that a lot of the outdoor hazards and medical issues discussed in the class are preventable. By having this awareness and recognizing the red flags they can avoid the situation in the first place. We teach the students what to do before they go on their trip, the skills needed for a survival situation, what to take with them, and how to take care of themselves until help arrives. It is not a question of if you get lost, but when you get lost. Provided that the students follow what was taught in the class, they should be able to, in a survival situation, have a shelter, a fire, water, food, and be able to signal the search and rescue field teams that are looking for them.

This course is designed for anyone who ventures into the outdoors at any time of the year in any kind of terrain for any type of outdoor activity. Whether you are hiking, backpacking, camping, picnicking, fishing, hunting, bird watching, mushroom picking, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, trekking, snowmobiling, you need to be prepared.

Some of the topics and skills taught in the course are as follows:

Subjects & Skills
  • Psychology of Survival
  • Shelter Building
  • The Art of Fire Craft
  • Signaling Techniques
  • Water and Water Purification Methods
  • Food
  • Survival Kits
  • First Aid Kits
  • Backcountry Hygiene
  • Winter Travel Safety
  • Survival in your Vehicle in the Winter
  • Vehicle Survival Kit
  • Avalanche Safety Tips
  • Desert Survival
  • Aircraft Survival
      Outdoor Hazards
  • weather
  • plants
  • insects
  • snakes
  • bears
  • mountain lions
First Aid Issues
  • Hypothermia
  • Frostbite
  • Altitude Sickness
  • Snowblindness
  • Dehydration
  • Heat Injuries
  • Water Borne Diseases
  • Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
  • Poisonous Plants
  • Poisonous Snake Bites

Summer Safety and Survival

The Summer Travel Safety program presents the hazards of travel during the summer time in hot weather. It teaches the students to be aware of weather forecasts and conditions, what to do and how to be prepared for hot temperature extremes. Some of the topics discussed are the psychology of survival, survival kits, the prevention and treatment of dehydration, sunburn, heat exhaustion, as well as other heat injuries, travel fatigue and tips on hot weather travel.

Winter Safety and Survival

The Winter Travel Safety program presents the hazards of travel during the winter time. It teaches the students to be aware of winter weather forecasts and conditions, what to do and how to be prepared for road closure. Some of the topics discussed are the psychology of survival, survival in your vehicle in the winter time, vehicle survival kits, the prevention and treatment of hypothermia, frostbite, and carbon monoxide poisoning, travel fatigue and tips on winter travel.

Outdoor/Mountain Safety Awareness

These are presentations on various wilderness safety topics for ages 3 years old to adults. The presentations are from one to two hours in length. This program is typically taught to schools, scout groups, civic organizations, outdoor clubs or any other group that has a need for this type of program. The program can be tailored to meet the needs of the group.

Special Programs

We can design a program to meet the specific needs of your organization.