WRITE A SURVIVAL KNOWLEDGE JOURNAL

What is a survival knowledge journal?

My survival knowledge journal is a personal notebook that contains my preparedness notes and plans. I note relevant information regarding many topics that will be useful in a survival / SHTF scenario and that are specific to me, my needs, and my location. Let me break it down for you…

First, I use a modified bullet journal / paragraph form. This allows me to describe information in detail as well as highlight key or important points.

I keep notes on a variety of subjects and am always adding more as I learn. I make notes about:

FOOD - I make lists of things I have, things I need - an inventory of sorts. I also make detailed note on local sources - grocery stores, supply and distribution depots, farms. See below FORAGING AND HUNTING.

WATER - Different water consumption calculations, storage inventory, local sources. Dates for rotations. Notes about purification formulas, and distillation.

SHELTER - How to build different shelters with different materials. Location of materials. Location of existing shelters - refuges in Provincial, State, and National Parks. Hunting shacks, area caves, locations of RV parks. I make note of any structure that could serve as a shelter in a worst case scenario that is accessible within my area.

LOCATIONS - Important locations (GPS / Map Coordinates). These can be meet up points for family members in a SHTF scenario. These can be cache locations. These can be high ground. These can be shelter points, water points, hunting grounds, fishing spots, wild food forage spots, pharmacies, fuel depots, other sites of interest. Making detailed notes about access points and routes to get to important survival locations can be a game changer in a true survival situation. How well do you know your surrounding area? What are the secondary routes that keep you off of the main roads?

WEATHER - I make notes about different weather. I know it sounds strange, but being able to decipher the weather can save you a lot of energy and resources. Learn to recognize cloud formations and what they represent in terms of forecasting. I make notes about seasonal temperature too. I record planting dates for my garden as well as first and last frost each year. Climate change is altering our environments. In a TEOTWAWKI notes might be all that survives.

NAVIGATION - Linked with location…navigation is an important subject to note. Coordinates, maps, access, map & compass use, distances, terrain, navigable rivers, lakes. Anything that you can note about your routes. Be sure to know how to use your map and compass. A good place to note distances, and different terrain features.

GARDENING - I keep note about planting. When, what, where, how much, etc. When to start seeds, when to harvest. What was harvested, what was the yield. Seed collection. Soil compositions. What worked and what didn’t. Much of this information is easily accessed on the internet. What about when there is no internet. Make notes now.

HUNTING - I keep detailed notes about hunting locations. What to look for in game habitat. What game feed on. How to field dress a variety of game. Recipes for bush cooking. Uses of the different animal parts. Notes on skinning and tanning. Notes on trapping. Different hunting techniques. Animal calls.

FORAGING - Where to find wild foods and medicinal plants. Seasons. Uses. Mushrooms.

MEDICAL AID - Standard first aid. Alternative process. Natural medicine. Treatments for common wilderness injuries, bites, infections. Locations of medical supplies. Lists of medicinal plants in my area. Home remedies, Lists of supplies.

MEDICINAL PLANTS - Uses, locations, seasons. How to identify. Detailed notes about important species.

PERSONAL & EMERGENCY CONTACTS - A list of names, phone numbers, and addresses for important people - family and entourage.

IMPORTANT NUMBERS - ACCOUNTS / SERIAL # / PASSPORTS - I note my bank accounts, life insurance policies, crypto accounts, family passports numbers, and firearm serial numbers.

The goal of my survival knowledge journal is to keep all of the important information linked to my survival in a single location. This way, I just grab my notes and i’m good to go. I do not have to think about it. All my plans are laid out ahead of time. Additionally, this also allows other people in my family to pick up and go should anything happen to me. I write in a short hand that only a few people close to me know how to read, our own kind of cipher. I keep my journal in my go bag.

The Northern Survivalist