Mors Kochanski
Encyclopedia
Mors Kochanski is a Canadian
bushcraft
and wilderness
survival instructor, naturalist
and author.
The Kochanski family immigrated to Canada from Poland in 1938 and Mors was born two years later (1940), the fifth of six children. His mother named him "Morris", but because of a misunderstanding due to her Polish accent, the midwife wrote 'Mors' on the birth certificate. His father had fought for the Polish Army during the First World War and his experiences left him with a strong desire to see his children educated so that they might benefit from serving as officers, as he felt they would inevitably be conscripted for military service during a war in their lifetime.
Mors was brought up on a relatively isolated farm in Saskatchewan, where he spent a most of his time assisting his father, a carpenter (who in Poland had specialised in the construction of windmills) and working on the farm. In his early school years, he walked or rode 7 miles to and from school on a bush road, a daily journey that was a significant part of his education and the foundation for a lifetime interest in nature.
In 1954 his parents moved to Prince Albert, and freed from his farm chores he made the public library his second home. Mors took particular interested in two books:
•An old Boy Scout manual (though he only lasted a year as a scout, disappointed by what he perceived as a lack of seriousness on the part of his fellow scouts and the scout master’s aversion to camp craft skills)
•The Ashley Book of Knots. He enlisted the help of the head librarian to order his own copy, which, at around $15 in 1952, took a long time to save enough money to purchase (ten years later, his daily wage as a surveyor was $12 a day.) So began a lifetime of collecting books on natural history, camping and survival skills, resulting in a personal library of thousands of titles.
Mors was a Sea Cadet for three years, chose the Navy as a career and received a scholarship to the Canadian Services College, Royal Roads. While enrolled, he traveled by ship through the Panama Canal in the summer of 1959. He was hospitalized for five weeks during his studies, (predominantly due to a case of the mumps) which contributed to an honourable discharge in his second year after failing too many subjects on the way to his Chemical Engineering degree.
From 1960 to 1964 he took Arts and Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan, but enrolled in courses that were of interest to him rather than part of any formal curriculum, including anthropology, psychology, geology and writing. After four years, his lack of participation in a recognised degree program resulted in a suspension from the university due to “a complete lack of direction”.
From that point on he resolved to become a specialist in outdoor subjects (especially wilderness living skills and the lifestyles of wilderness peoples) though he had many different jobs before he found his opportunity to become an instructor, including:
• Draftsman (updating the street plans of the City of Prince Albert after the installation of gas mains)
• Concrete technician (construction of water-excluding cribbing for a potash mine)
• Geologists’ assistant (for an engineering firm searching for an optimal location for a potash mine and exploring the feasibility of a solution mining approach in Saskatchewan)
• Engineering technician (involving a potash solution mine project)
• Surveyor (for the construction of roads in Saskatchewan)
• Social worker
It was also around this time that he received his pilot’s license.
In 1968, Blue Lake Centre (near Hinton, Alberta) began
operating outdoor education programs and Mors, now 28 years of age, offered his services. At the same time, he met his friend and mentor, Tom Roycraft, who was at the time the senior civilian survival instructor at a Department of National Defense survival school.
During the 1970s Mors became an associate professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Physical Education, editor of the magazine ‘Alberta wilderness arts and recreation’ and freelanced for various agencies ranging from Boy Scouts to bush pilots over the next thirty-five years.
In 1986, he was approached to write a book on survival and wilderness skills for the Canadian Boreal forests which was originally titled “Northern Bushcraft” which became a Canadian bestseller. (the publishers later shortened the title to 'bushcraft')
The original title 'Northern Bushcraft' was in reference to an earlier publication 'Bushcraft' by Richard Harry Graves
, which covered survival and wilderness living skills in the Australian environment.
Mors has acquired an international following and has instructed for both military and civilians in Canada, the US, the UK and Sweden and is well known for saying "The More you know, the less you carry"
List of Publications:
Wilderness Arts and Recreation Magazine (editor and author, with Tom Roycroft and Don Bright of Edson, Alberta) - beginning in 1976.
Bushcraft – originally released as Northern Bushcraft in 1988. A guide to outdoor skills and wilderness survival. (Lone Pine Publishing)(Northern Bushcraft - 1988 ISBN 1-871890-30-6) (Bushcraft - 1998 ISBN 1-55105-122-2)
Bush Arts – a guide to hand crafting with materials from the boreal forest. Lone Pine Publishing, 1989 ISBN 0-919433-49-9
Wilderness Skills Series and A Plant Walk with Mors Kochanski - (DVD series produced by Karamat Wilderness Ways)
Booklet series (17+ tiles, inc. Basic Wilderness Skills in Deep Snow, Survival Kit Ideas, etc.) – published by Karamat Wilderness Ways
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
bushcraft
Bushcraft
Bushcraft is a long-term extension of survival skills. A popular term for wilderness skills in Canada, The UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the term was popularised in the southern hemisphere by Les Hiddins in Australia as well as in the northern hemisphere by Mors Kochanski and...
and wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
survival instructor, naturalist
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
and author.
The Kochanski family immigrated to Canada from Poland in 1938 and Mors was born two years later (1940), the fifth of six children. His mother named him "Morris", but because of a misunderstanding due to her Polish accent, the midwife wrote 'Mors' on the birth certificate. His father had fought for the Polish Army during the First World War and his experiences left him with a strong desire to see his children educated so that they might benefit from serving as officers, as he felt they would inevitably be conscripted for military service during a war in their lifetime.
Mors was brought up on a relatively isolated farm in Saskatchewan, where he spent a most of his time assisting his father, a carpenter (who in Poland had specialised in the construction of windmills) and working on the farm. In his early school years, he walked or rode 7 miles to and from school on a bush road, a daily journey that was a significant part of his education and the foundation for a lifetime interest in nature.
In 1954 his parents moved to Prince Albert, and freed from his farm chores he made the public library his second home. Mors took particular interested in two books:
•An old Boy Scout manual (though he only lasted a year as a scout, disappointed by what he perceived as a lack of seriousness on the part of his fellow scouts and the scout master’s aversion to camp craft skills)
•The Ashley Book of Knots. He enlisted the help of the head librarian to order his own copy, which, at around $15 in 1952, took a long time to save enough money to purchase (ten years later, his daily wage as a surveyor was $12 a day.) So began a lifetime of collecting books on natural history, camping and survival skills, resulting in a personal library of thousands of titles.
Mors was a Sea Cadet for three years, chose the Navy as a career and received a scholarship to the Canadian Services College, Royal Roads. While enrolled, he traveled by ship through the Panama Canal in the summer of 1959. He was hospitalized for five weeks during his studies, (predominantly due to a case of the mumps) which contributed to an honourable discharge in his second year after failing too many subjects on the way to his Chemical Engineering degree.
From 1960 to 1964 he took Arts and Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan, but enrolled in courses that were of interest to him rather than part of any formal curriculum, including anthropology, psychology, geology and writing. After four years, his lack of participation in a recognised degree program resulted in a suspension from the university due to “a complete lack of direction”.
From that point on he resolved to become a specialist in outdoor subjects (especially wilderness living skills and the lifestyles of wilderness peoples) though he had many different jobs before he found his opportunity to become an instructor, including:
• Draftsman (updating the street plans of the City of Prince Albert after the installation of gas mains)
• Concrete technician (construction of water-excluding cribbing for a potash mine)
• Geologists’ assistant (for an engineering firm searching for an optimal location for a potash mine and exploring the feasibility of a solution mining approach in Saskatchewan)
• Engineering technician (involving a potash solution mine project)
• Surveyor (for the construction of roads in Saskatchewan)
• Social worker
It was also around this time that he received his pilot’s license.
In 1968, Blue Lake Centre (near Hinton, Alberta) began
operating outdoor education programs and Mors, now 28 years of age, offered his services. At the same time, he met his friend and mentor, Tom Roycraft, who was at the time the senior civilian survival instructor at a Department of National Defense survival school.
During the 1970s Mors became an associate professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Physical Education, editor of the magazine ‘Alberta wilderness arts and recreation’ and freelanced for various agencies ranging from Boy Scouts to bush pilots over the next thirty-five years.
In 1986, he was approached to write a book on survival and wilderness skills for the Canadian Boreal forests which was originally titled “Northern Bushcraft” which became a Canadian bestseller. (the publishers later shortened the title to 'bushcraft')
The original title 'Northern Bushcraft' was in reference to an earlier publication 'Bushcraft' by Richard Harry Graves
Richard Harry Graves
Richard Harry Graves was an Irish-born Australian poet and novelist.In World War II Graves founded and led the Australian Jungle Rescue Detachment of 60 soldiers, which was attached to the Far East American Airforce. These men conducted over 300 rescues, all of which were completed successfully...
, which covered survival and wilderness living skills in the Australian environment.
Mors has acquired an international following and has instructed for both military and civilians in Canada, the US, the UK and Sweden and is well known for saying "The More you know, the less you carry"
List of Publications:
Wilderness Arts and Recreation Magazine (editor and author, with Tom Roycroft and Don Bright of Edson, Alberta) - beginning in 1976.
Bushcraft – originally released as Northern Bushcraft in 1988. A guide to outdoor skills and wilderness survival. (Lone Pine Publishing)(Northern Bushcraft - 1988 ISBN 1-871890-30-6) (Bushcraft - 1998 ISBN 1-55105-122-2)
Bush Arts – a guide to hand crafting with materials from the boreal forest. Lone Pine Publishing, 1989 ISBN 0-919433-49-9
Wilderness Skills Series and A Plant Walk with Mors Kochanski - (DVD series produced by Karamat Wilderness Ways)
Booklet series (17+ tiles, inc. Basic Wilderness Skills in Deep Snow, Survival Kit Ideas, etc.) – published by Karamat Wilderness Ways