Byron Kerns Survival School

Ford Motors and Outside Television select Byron as their survival
consultant for a"Go Do" adventure in the swamps of Louisiana

Four contest winners from New Jersey got the opportunity to spend a chilly night, with
minimal equipment, in the swamp near Bayou Gauche, Louisiana. With the clothes on
their back, a few feet of para cord, a fire steel, a machete, and a full water bottle and
blanket each, they experienced an adventure most locals choose not to do. After taking
an airboat ride deep into the bayou, Byron hiked them through the swamp to their camp
site. They made a natural shelter and created fire. Then, Byron, being the nice guy he is,
tore down their shelter and poured water on their fire. Did they rebuild their shelter and
remake fire ... utilizing an outstanding PMA? What do you think? Then, at dark, Byron
left the men ... nicknamed "the swamp dogs" ... much to their surprise. But not before
awarding them 3-pounds of fresh-caught shrimp. It was an honor and priviledge to work
with such an outstanding film crew from California, not to mention the ad agency folks
from Detroit. BKSS sincerely thanks OUTSIDE TV (kin to Outside magazine) and Ford
Motors for hiring Byron to be the survival consultant for this exciting contest webisode.

Wilderness Survival Instructor Training Course scheduled
for July 9-15, 2012 in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia (open to public)
In 2011, four students were chosen ... and, all graduated. For 2012, BKSS is allowing a maximum attendance of six students.
Conducted in the George Washington National Forest, the COURSE will challenge the attendees in land navigation using map
& compass, days of minimal food, various types of shelters, lesson plan creation, presentations, and a myriad of survival skills
and knowledge. Tuition is $925/person. Co-ed applicants with interest, 18 and older, are encouraged to request an application.

Calm Courage students enjoy and learn at Fort McCoy

The students shined ... but not the sun. It was a wet and soggy weekend,
complete with drizzles and downpours. But, this fabulous five survived, stayed
dry, and built fires with nary a problem using flint and steel, even under such
wet conditions. Their experiences were many: cooking salmon on the grill over
the fire, a wrecked airplane group survival scenario, instruction and a written
test in the classroom, shelter building, the laughter and lots of comaraderie.
The course was an introduction to survival ... but at BKSS, with our added
values, the course was much more. Nine were enrolled and five showed. Our
hats are off to these fine folks, coming from the Orlando area and Boynton
Beach to learn skills and knowledge from Byron ... and to see and experience
how special the woods can be.

Special kudos to the graduates of the
2011 Instructor Training Course (ITC)

Rumor has it that the ITC was not an easy course, nor was it a breeze to get into. Of eleven
applicants, only four were selected to participate in the course. "Sure, I could have lined my
pockets and put a bunch more in this class," said Byron. "But I didn't." Creating outstanding
ability and the demonstration of a caring desire for others to become better survival instructors
... that was my mission." If you would like to learn more about the ITC, view course photos, and
read student testimonials, please click HERE.

Congratulations to an
outstanding Wild Wisdom group

What an extraordinary weekend! A police officer,
firefighters, EMT's, paramedics, a railroad worker, an
anesthesiologist, a waitress/student, a commercial
real estate salesman and his son, a web designer, an
engineer, and a survival dude named Byron ... these
were the humans. Now add in a black bear and her
cub, walking through our camp and even standing at
times, a dozen whitetail deer including a buck with
quite a magnificent rack, turkeys, a couple of bald
eagles ... and, an absolutely fabulous lady flying a
plane overhead, signaled by our mirrors, and dropping
us food. Oh, and did we mention the campout the
night before the course? ... extremely bodacious.
Students traveled from Miami, Melbourne, Parkland,
Minneola, Leesburg, Port Richey, and Palmetto to
have a memorable adventure and to learn ... hands-on
... the art of wilderness survival. They got hungry and
they slept cold in night temps that were in the
mid-50's ... in their improvised shelters with a blanket.
Some slept ... some didn't. One said, "I slept like a
baby ... I cried every two hours." They smoked jerky,
cleaned and cooked a rabbit, made improvised
slingshots ... they learned and experienced.

The Wilderness First Aid
certification course is a huge success

Our sincere thanks to Jono Bryant, director of SOLO Southeast
Wilderness Medicine, based at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in
Bryson City, NC, for teaching a most excellent and bodacious
two-day, 16-hr., Wilderness First Aid course and the students
who made it all possible, some driving great distances to attend,
coming from Naples, Tallahassee, Sarasota and cities in-between.
"No where in Florida this year ... or, maybe in years," says Byron,
"has there been a WFA course with such a level of medical and
survival professionalism, as well as the added value that SOLO
and BKSS provided. Plans are to conduct such a course at least
one time per year in the central Florida area. Stay tuned to the
schedule page for the 2012 offering. To view several photos and
testimonials from the 2011 WFA course, please click HERE.

Click HERE to view the episode featuring Byron and
wilderness survival. A third generation Floridian, Chad
is an award-winning cinematographer and producer.
His quest to teach viewers how to do Florida and
present it in stunning High Definition is the driving
force behind the show's success.

BKSS is in Go, AirTran Airways onboard magazine.
Jacqui Detwiler, associate editor of Hemispheres, recently traveled from her office in NYC to Florida and did a two-day,
one-night with Byron in the woods. Her story about "wilderness survival" appears in the June 2011 issue of Go, reaching
an average of 2 million passengers. Please click HERE to read the digital version. You will have to register/subscribe to
read the issue. Only takes a minute and it's free.

"how to Do florida" television series
with host Chad Crawford ... and Byron.

Introducing a special and bodacious BKSS friend,
Scott Gossman of gossmanknives.com

This past April, Byron shared the wilderness with an outstanding knife maker. His name
is Scott Gossman, a craftsman extraordinaire, who is most proud that US soldiers trust
his knives so much they carry them in Afghanistan and Iraq. Not to mention he has also
sold his knives to customers in eighteen countries. Yeah. The dude is bodaciously good
at what he does. Not only that, he is a heck of a nice guy, modestly humble, and a great
outdoorsman. Presented with a knife (the mini-Tusker) by Scott, Byron was speechless
(and that is rare.) Visit his web site; then, email or call Scott ... treat yourself to an
awesome hand-made knife. And, don't forget to tell him that the peaceful survival dude
from Florida sent you.

The student testimony of Milo Bradley: AIS / Tennis Australia, Pro Tour men's coach.
Milo talks about Florida bugs, Byron's snoring, and more importantly his learning experience during a 3-day
private instruction course. Make yourself comfortable, get a snack and a drink, and prop up your feet because
this testimony is a long one. So long, that we've put it in our BLOGS section. Be sure to read it. It's all the way
from Perth, Australia and titled "Survival Training, One-on-One, with Byron."

BKSS featured in Ocala Style magazine.
JoAnn Guidry, a nationally-acclaimed writer, enjoyed a day in the woods with Byron. Her story
appears in the June 2011 issue. Visit HERE for the digital version.

Introducing Jimmy Culpepper of georgiaoutdoorsurvivalskills.com,
a most talented survival instructor, a bodacious BKSS friend, and ... get ready for this ... a fire-by-friction expert

This man is phenomenal. He's one of the few primitive instructors that can walk into the woods and come out ten-minutes later with the materials to make
fire using a bow drill and/or hand drill. And, do it in the Southeastern United States where we drip with humidity. During 2011, Byron had an opportunity to
share a day with Jimmy at his property near Hamilton, GA. "The dude cracked me up," Byron explains. "He smoked that bow ... whoosh, whoosh, whoosh,
back and forth ... and, out pops this gigantic coal. Then, he walks over to his car, does this and that for what seemed like an eternity, and I'm freakin' that
the coal's gonna burn out. He comes moseying back, puts the coal in his taco ... and, well, you see the picture. Viola! Fire! Unbelievable. He's definitely got
the Tebow-thing going for him. Could be because he's also a preacher." In the Spring (exact date and location to be determined), Byron and Jimmy will be
conducting an overnight, weekend course together in GA. What a tremendous opportunity to learn primitive and modern survival skills all in one weekend.

Recognizing Sarah D., survival woman extraordinaire
Sarah recently took a hiatus from her scholarly duties as a student at a college on the west coast of Florida to attend a two-night, three-day Private
Instruction Course in advanced wilderness survival. After a 2-hr. hike to the camp site, the lessons began. Traps and snares using carved triggers, map
& compass navigation, gill net construction, natural shelters, making a solar still (without a shovel), burden carries using a packstrap, and an in-depth
look at the psychological & physical issues confronting a survivor were a few of the topics of instruction. And, she definitely picked the right time to
learn. The night temps were in the 20's. We applaud Sarah for her outdoor learning endeavors at BKSS: graduate of the Calm Courage course,
graduate of the Bare Bones course, graduate of the Wilderness First Aid certification course, and now this bodacious session.

On Byron's recommended reading list:
"Lost in Shangri-La" by Mitchell Zuckoff
On May 13, 1945, twenty-four officers and enlisted men and
women stationed on what was then Dutch New Guinea boarded a
transport plane named the Gremlin Special for a sightseeing trip
over "Shangri-La," a beautiful and mysterious valley surrounded by
steep, jagged mountain peaks deep within the island's uncharted
jungle. But the pleasure tour became an unforgettable battle for
survival when the plane crashed. Miraculously, three passengers
survived. Click HERE to learn more.

BKSS plans series of videos
Byron has a new toy. The GoPro Hero 2 Outdoor edition video camera. Stand by for his bodacious creations. We can
already hear him now shouting "Action", "Take Six" and "Cut!" with the camera mounted on his head, his chest, an ATV,
and on a tripod. Expect some good-looking and creative videos, with music and all sorts of fancy editing, some day in the
future. Knowing Byron he should have the final products available sometime before 2016.

Bare Bones students initiate training area on the Peace River
Bodacious-tasting rabbit, excellent jerky, thick saw palmettos with soggy swamp
and cypress knees underfoot for map & compass training, and outstanding team
effort. Another successful Bare Bones course conducted, this time, at a private
ranch near Arcadia on the clear and inviting Peace River. An unbelievale tract of
property and "Old Florida" at its finest, with turkey, deer, and hogs in abundance.
Stay tuned for future courses at this superb survival training location.

An outstanding Calm Courage course at our Sunnyhill training area
Nestled in a gorgeous and shady oak hammock teeming with wildlife, and only a twenty-minute gentle
walk from the vehicle parking area, exists an area perfectly suited for our introductory 2-day, one-night
survival course. And here the above extraordinary group of students learned and experienced the
knowledge, skills, and techniques necessary to become more comfortable in a wilderness environment.
From Florida, New York, Missouri, and Georgia they came - a detective, an engineer, a police recruiter,
an equity research specialist, a web developer, a baker, a marketing rep, and an electrician soon to
leave for a thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail. In addition to learning the core foundation of our seven
survival priorities, they built natural shelters, shelters from natural/man-made materials, and participated
in several team challenges dealing with firecraft, shelters, water procurement, and simulated injuries.
Rounding out their weekend was the added bonus of map & compass instruction and, of course, a
written test with a $50 gift card from BassPro going to the winner, Timothy K., from St. Louis.