Feb142016

The Florida Earthskills Gathering

by jc | Events,News

Friday, Feb 19, 2016

Additional Times

  • Wed, Feb 17, 2016
  • Thu, Feb 18, 2016
  • Sat, Feb 20, 2016
  • Sun, Feb 21, 2016

Contact Information

Website: http://www.floridaearthskills.org/

Phone: (386) 336-5400

The Putnam Land Conservancy presents its annual Florida Earthskills Gathering to build community around sustainable living skills such as harvesting wild foods, making fire by friction and building with natural materials. The sixth annual FLESG will take place Feb 17-21, 2016, at Little Orange Creek Nature Park in Hawthorne, Fla., fifteen miles east of Gainesville. This year the event will offer five full days of classes and evening entertainment.

Instructors at FLESG help participants move towards a simpler, more earth-based lifestyle. As well as learning detailed information about botany and mycology, participants also have the opportunity to make crafts such as blacksmithed knives, pine needle baskets, or hand-tanned buckskin. The event also features fireside stories by award-winning storyteller Doug Elliott, traditional Appalachian music, a Friday night old time dance with caller, as well as musicians from the local area, and a store that sells hand-made goods. Local folks from North Central Florida are joined by participants traveling from all over Florida and beyond to learn ancestral skills and to immerse themselves in a culture of connection.

In February 2015, the Florida Earthskills Gathering drew about 500 people from a wide range of backgrounds and ideologies. This event is part of a global trend to re-discover the skills of past generations in order to create a more sustainable way of living.

There are discounts available if one purchases tickets early, and there is a minimal $5 Entry Fee to check out this event which can be put towards the cost of classes if one decides to register. For more information, visit www.FloridaEarthSkills.org or send an email to Info@FloridaEarthSkills.org.