A Tibetan Lesson in the Greenbelt Woods

This Saturday, Joey Murray, plans to pass down knowledge it took a friend of his five years of living with Tibetan monks to learn.

His friend told Murray that he had spent eight years in the Himalayas, and in year five, the monks decided to pass on to him a skill they told him was the most important thing they’d ever learned. They showed him the fox walk, Murray said.

Those who join Murray will cut five years and a trip to Tibet out of the process — jumping straight to the fox walk lesson.

The . Woodlands Committee invites children, adults and families to join Murray, a committee member and an Ancestral Knowledge instructor, for a walk in the woods. While traversing the Greenbelt forest preserve, Murray will also show his Saturday students how to survive in the wilderness, should they become lost.

If it’s 52 degrees outside and an adult gets lost in the woods, there’s about a 90 percent chance that they’ll be dead by morning, Murray explained. But their changes shoot way up if they know how to build shelter, he added. So Murray plans to teach students how to construct a quick shelter.

The walk starts at 10 a.m. and ends around 1 p.m. Those who participate will also play games that teach them skills, they’ll learn about edible and medicinal plants, and gain lessons on how to use their wits to survive. 

The Woodlands Committee asks participants to meet them at Northway Fields by the mulch piles — and to bring along water and a snack.