Our Story
Woodland Ways
is a program created to meet the needs of young people as they move into adulthood. Our experienced staff will bring students on exciting journeys involving skills of survival as practiced historically by people all over the earth. Self-motivation and teamwork are developed and used on a daily basis as we help students on the road to adulthood. Woodland Ways is located in rural, upstate New York, approximately thirty miles south of Albany on 400+ acres of beautiful fields, forests, and streams. |
Michael Pewtherer founded Woodland Ways in the summer of 2000 to offer young people a chance to experience living closely with nature. After graduating from the Hawthorne Valley School, he was the head instructor at Hawk Circle programs for a number of years. He also trained at locations around the world while perfecting his wilderness skills in full survival situations.
Michael worked for the National Park Service in the Smokey Mountains monitoring bear births, reintroducing the red wolf and tracking Russian wild hogs for relocation. He also spent a year in the Australian outback discovering how desert dwelling cultures differ from those of more lush environs. He is the author of Wilderness Survival Handbook: Primitive Skills for Short-Term Survival and Long-Term Comfort (McGraw Hill 2010), a comprehensive guide to wilderness survival and primitive living techniques for North America. He is also co-author of Wilderness Survival: Living Off the Land with the Clothes on Your Back and the Knife on Your Belt, (McGraw Hill and Ragged Mountain Press 2006). He has both written and been featured in articles as well as consulted on programs for television. He currently lives in Philmont NY. |