Tickets and info: click here

Location: Mary Moore Searight Park

2-day event, Sat.-Sun., Sept. 13-14

Discover an entirely new experience when it comes to archery by learning how to make your very own wooden longbow. Making a traditional longbow is a talent that encapsulates so many areas of outdoor skills. From identifying and understanding types of wood and how they bend, to working with tools and understanding a bow design and layout. You will experience archery at its foundation level. With experienced archer & bowyer Chris Hyde by your side and a 1:4 student ratio, you will be guided in crafting a beautiful – fully functional work of art. No previous experience needed when it comes to working with wood or tools. Want to complete your archery adventures? Consider taking our Arrow Making Class also.

Class Format

• Day 1

• 9am - Introductions

• 9:15am - Intro to Bow Making

• 9:45am - How to Obtain a Growth Ring

• 10am - Profiling Bow & Design

• 10:05am - Begin working profile

• 12pm - Lunch on site (please bring lunch)

• 12:20pm - Continue working limbs down

• 2pm - Floor tiller

• 5pm - Clean up

• 6pm - Depart

What To Bring

• Notebook + pencil for taking notes

• Work gloves you prefer

• Chair/Blanket

• Cooler for drinks, lunch, ice

• Lunch for both days

• Snacks

• Water bottle + Drinking water

• Sunhat

• Clothes you dont mind getting dirty and dusty, possible stained

• All other materials, bow woods, tools and supplies will be supplied for the class

Making Rope From Plants

Learn the art of twisting wild fibers together in order to make strong usable rope for survival! No matter what survival book you grab off the shelf, the skill of rope making lies within.

Join us for a fun and educational evening as we explore a wide variety of materials found in nature to make rope from. No experience needed, this is a great intro class to the world of plants and rope making.

Please bring a notepad and pen to take notes. Free drink token and Lumber Society Rope From Plants badge with each paid admission! Arrive early! Questions: email mark@buzzmillcoffee.com.

Tickets: click here

Date: Thursday, Sept. 18, 7pm

Location: Buzz Mill Coffee, 1505 Town Creek Dr.

Knot Tying Workshop

Learn all the basic knots and much more from Wilderness First Responder Chris Hyde! The first knot you most likely learned - and the one utilized the most often - is the one used to tie your shoes. But what if we told you that we know of an even better way to tie your shoes? Learn this and so many more fun and useful knots from Camp Master Chris Hyde! Make your friends green with envy as you show off your knot knowledge at the next camp out!

Please bring a notepad and pen to take notes. Arrive early. Free drink token and Lumber Society Knot Tying badge with each paid admission! Questions: email mark@buzzmillcoffee.com.

Date: Thursday, October 2, 7pm

Location: Buzz Mill Coffee, 1505 Town Creek Dr.

Tickets: click here

Tickets and info: click here

Location: Mary Moore Searight Park

2-day event, Sat.-Sun., Sept. 13-14

Class Experience

A bow is only as good as the arrow it sends flying. In this hands-on, immersive weekend workshop, you’ll learn the ancient art of crafting fully functional primitive arrows—just like our ancestors once did. Using traditional techniques and natural materials, you’ll shape, fletch, and finish your own ash-wood arrows, designed to pair perfectly with our self bow class.

What you'll learn

• Shaping the Shaft: Remove bark and smooth your arrow with stone tools.

• Straightening Techniques: Master steam & fire-bending for perfect flight.

• Nock Carving: File strong, reliable nocks for shooting and hafting.

• Fire Hardening: Toughen your arrow for long-lasting durability.

• Fletching with Feathers: Bind wild turkey feathers using natural sinew.

• Pine Pitch Glue: Cook up this ancient adhesive for securing arrowheads.

• Flintknapped Arrowhead: Each student receives a handmade stone point to complete their arrow.

What To Bring

• Clothing & shoes for the weather (consider layering your clothes for cold)

• Notebook + pencil/pen

• Water bottle

• Small ground pad for kneeling/sitting on (camp chair is also fine)

• Lunch & Snacks for the day (consider a cooler to keep drinks/snacks cold)

• Mora Fixed Blade Knife (you can purchase one for $25 from us also)

• Wet weather gear in case of rain

• Backpack to carry supplies from car to camp

Advanced Knife Carving: Traps & Snares

Tickets: click here

Are you ready to bring your knife skills to the practical application level for survival and backcountry camping? Join us for trap and snare making as well as other advanced carving skills that will help you become more proficient with your knife during wilderness outings.

Students are encouraged to take our Knife Carving Basics Class prior to signing up for this class, however it isn't required. Expect to walk away with a lot of new skills in how to most effectively utilize your camp and bush knife.

**Knives will be for sale at this class for $20 or you can bring your own. However YOU need to ensure it’s newly sharpened and ready to carve. We recommend a Mora Fixed Blade Companion Knife. These are easily found online for $20. The knife we gave you at the Knife Carving Basics Class works great!

Please bring a notepad and pen to take notes. Arrive early. Free drink token and Advanced Knife Carving Badge with each paid admission! Questions: email mark@buzzmillcoffee.com.

Tickets and info: click here

Class Experience

As crisp autumn air sweeps through the Hill Country, nature unveils her most generous season – a time of ripening seeds, nourishing nuts, and wild plants offering both sustenance and wisdom. Join master naturalist Chris Hyde for an immersive plant walk through one of Austin’s most vibrant wild spaces, where every trail turn reveals new edible, medicinal, and utilitarian treasures.

What you'll learn

• Discover edible, medicinal, and practical uses of local flora

• Master key techniques for plant identification by family

• Decode the "wall of green" that surrounds Austin’s wild spaces

• Gain confidence in foraging and sustainable harvesting

Tickets and info: click here

This is a two date event: Sun., Oct. 19 & Sun., Nov. 2

Class Experience

"From earth, we shape. From fire, we awaken."

Long before metal and modern cookware, clay was the pinnacle of human innovation—the first technology that allowed us to store, cook, and purify with fire. In this immersive hands-on journey, you’ll walk in the footsteps of ancient artisans, mastering the sacred transformation of wild earth into enduring vessels.

By the end of this class, you’ll carry home 3-4 fired clay vessels—each a functional work of art, ready to hold water, simmer stews, or gather wild edibles on your next wilderness adventure. You’ll also take with you extra clay, the skills to create more, and the spark to inspire your community with this timeless craft.

Class Requirements

• All tools, materials, and guidance provided—just bring your curiosity and readiness to create

What you'll learn

• The Hunt for Clay – How to locate, harvest, and process wild clay from the land

• The Alchemy of Mud – Filtering impurities and blending natural tempers for strength

• Hands in the Earth – Primitive hand-building techniques: pinch pots and coiled forms

• Tools of the Ancients – Crafting with bone, wood, and stone to shape your vision

• The Art of Burnishing – Polishing clay to a luminous sheen with smooth river stones

• The Dance of Fire – Pit-firing your creations, where flame and smoke bestow strength

Sample Class Format

• Oct 19 (8am - 6pm)

• How to wildcraft your own clay

• Building clay pots by hand

• Nov 2 (8am - 6pm)

• Fire pots in an open pit

Tickets and info: click here

During this workshop participants will learn how to make hot-process soap safely and with confidence. This class will cover supplies, ingredients, safety procedures, basic formulation theory and scenting with essential oils. Create a one-pound batch (four bars) of soap scented with essential oils of your choosing, perfect for gifts as well as personal use.

Free drink token and Soap Making Badge with purchase.

Tickets and info: click here

Pine needle basketry offers both beginner and expert basket makers an equal opportunity for satisfaction. With almost endless variations, sizes, and shapes that can be created using only thread and a bundle of needles, there is sure to be a beautiful, yet functional basket stitched by each student. This is a wonderful natural craft for children ages 9 and up as well. So bring the family out and join us in keeping the skill of pine needle basketry alive. 

Free drink token and Basket Making Badge with each purchase.

Tickets and info: click here

Location: Mary Moore Searight Park

This is a 3-day event: November 7-9

Class Experience

During this inspirational hands-on class you will learn how to take a fresh deer skin and transform it into soft, supple, and luxurious buckskin for use in clothing, moccasins, bags and so much more. Participants will gain a whole new perspective when it comes to animal skin as they bring the hide through the various stages of the process.

What you'll learn

• How to properly soak the hide

• Scrape away the hair & grain

• Rinse, wring & acidify

• Membrane the flesh side

• Saturate the hide in emulsified oils

• Soften with cable & rack

• Smoke to waterproof & give color

Tickets and info: click here

This hands-on fermentation workshop introduces students to the science and art of preserving food through natural bacterial cultures. Participants will explore various fermentation techniques, understand the health benefits of consuming fermented foods, and learn how these traditional preservation methods enhance flavor while extending shelf life. Students will master the fundamentals of vegetable fermentation and probiotic drink creation by making their own quick pickles and establishing a versatile ginger bug starter culture to take home. By the end of the class, attendees will have the skills and confidence to continue fermenting safely in their own kitchens, incorporating these living foods into their regular diet.

Tickets and info: click here

From building them, to tending them and cooking over them, fire is an instinctual part of all our lives at a very early age. During this exciting hands-on class, students will be guided through the steps of learning all about:

• Collecting tinder, kindling & wood

• Proper fire structures & design

• Safely lighting matches

• How to use a ferrocerium rod properly

In addition to the above, students will also be shown how to safely and properly tend to and safely extinguish their fire while camping outdoors. Participants that attend this class will leave with a newfound respect for fire as well as a passion for being the master fire maker during their wilderness outings.

Please bring a notepad and pen to take notes. Free drink token and Lumber Society Fire Building badge with each paid admission! Arrive early! Questions: email mark@buzzmillcoffee.com.

Tickets & info: click here

This is a 2-day event

Location: Mary Moore Searight Park

Class Experience

Ready to trade in Wi-Fi for some wilderness time? Join us for a hands-on, two-day Bushcraft Skills Weekend in the heart of Texas' wild spaces! Whether you're a total beginner or a weekend warrior of the woods, this immersive class will teach you the essential skills to become confident outdoors—using little more than a knife, some grit, and nature’s resources.

What you'll learn

• Firecraft: Spark flames like a pro (even if it’s damp!).

• Shelter Building: Crafting a warm refuge from branches & tarps.

• Knife Skills & Carving: Plus saw usage, batoning, and crafting useful tools.

• Useful Plants & Cooking: Using local plants and cooking over an open fire.

• Survival Smarts: Navigate, purify water, and make rope.

Sample Class Format

• 8:00AM - Introductions

• 8:25AM - Begin Knife Carving Basics + Throw Sticks

• 11:00AM - Fire Basics & Fire Challenge

• 12:00PM - Bushcraft Figures, History & Lunch Discussion + Break

• 12:45PM - Bow Drill Fires

• 2:15PM - Cordage from Plants

• 3:00PM - Useful Knots for Camp

• 3:40PM - Clean up spaces / Closing Circle

• 4:00PM - Depart for Day