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Olson to read at Courtenay Library

This unique unconventional manual blends philosophy with a detailed introduction to a rich assortment of traditional living skills

Local author Miles Olson will visit the Courtenay Library to discuss his new book Unlearn, Rewild: Earth Skills, Ideas and Inspiration for the Future Primitive on Nov. 1 at 6:30 p.m.

Picture a world where humans exist, like all other living things, in balance. Where there is no separation between 'human' and 'wild.'

Unlearn, Rewild boldly envisions such a world, probing deeply into the cultural constraints on our ability to lead truly sustainable lives and offering real, tangible tools to move toward another way of living, seeing and thinking.

Part philosophical treatise, part hard-core survival guide, this unique and thoroughly unconventional manual blends philosophy with a detailed introduction to a rich assortment of endangered traditional living skills, including:

• Harvesting and preparing unconventional proteins;

• Feral food preservation;

• Dealing responsibly with waste;

• Natural methods of birth control;

• Tanning and processing animal skins.

Lyrical, humorous, surprising, enlightening and thought-provoking by turns, Unlearn, Rewild is essential reading for those who wish to heal themselves and the earth, live gracefully into the future primitive and experience their wildest dreams.

Miles Olson has spent the past decade deeply immersed in learning and practising earth skills; living intimately with the land on the forested edge of a sprawling city. While foraging, hunting, gardening, and gathering for his livelihood, his life has been shaped

profoundly by a desire to nurture healthy relationships with humans and the non-human world.

Miles' experiences have put him at the forefront of the rewilding movement, radical self-reliance, and the impact of civilization on the natural world.

For more information, drop by the library at 300 Sixth St., call 250-334-3369, ext. 2, or visit the author’s blog at http://milesolson.net.

This is a free program and all are welcome.

— Courtenay Library