Shelter is one of our most immediate needs in the wild — and one of humanity’s earliest examples of creativity and design. In this interactive outdoor workshop, participants will explore how people across cultures and climates have built safe, comfortable spaces using only natural materials and ingenuity. Through hands-on practice, you’ll learn to construct debris huts, lean-tos, and tarp shelters, understanding how airflow, insulation, and positioning all contribute to warmth and protection. Building on skills introduced in previous sessions — such as cordage and knottying — we’ll apply those techniques to real-world structures while ensuring that newcomers are fully supported through step-by-step review. Together, we’ll also take a cultural and historical look at how shelter design evolved around the world, from arid desert dwellings to subarctic snow shelters, and consider what those ancient innovations can teach us about sustainability and adaptability today. Highlights:

• Learn to choose safe and effective shelter sites.

• Build and test natural and improvised shelters using found materials.

• Explore how ancient cultures adapted architecture to diverse environments.

• Apply cordage and knot-tying skills, with full review for beginners.

• Earn your Emergency Shelter Builder micro-certification toward the Wilderness Survival Level I Certificate.