06/07/2021 / By Divina Ramirez
Do you have what it takes to survive in the wild? Think again. According to a recent survey, most Americans feel confident they can survive in the wild for 16 days despite a lack of experience. But when it came down to specifics, respondents turned out to be less prepared than they assumed. In fact, most of them can’t start a fire.
The survey was commissioned by Avocado Green Mattress and involved 2,000 respondents. It revealed that 17 percent of respondents feel “very confident” in their ability to start a fire with flint. Only 14 percent of the respondents feel the same way about their ability to identify edible plants and berries in the wild.
Meanwhile, 52 percent said they are confident in their ability to identify different types of plants and trees. But when asked actually to identify plants and trees, only a quarter of respondents were able to identify a black oak leaf, a large oak common across the eastern and midwestern United States.
Additionally, only 35 percent of respondents could correctly identify poison ivy when shown a picture of it. Poison ivy is found practically everywhere in the U.S. About 85 percent of the population is allergic to poison ivy, while about 10–15 percent is extremely allergic.
That said, 64 percent of respondents could spot maple leaves, while 55 percent spotted ferns. 34 percent could tell the difference between deciduous and coniferous trees.
However, the survey also showed that the past year had given Americans a newfound appreciation for the great outdoors. Mark Abrials, the co-founder of Avocado Green Mattress, said the COVID-19 pandemic had reminded people of just how essential nature is to their physical and mental well-being.
True enough, over half of the respondents said they felt that outdoor or nature activities were the safest way of getting out of the house during the pandemic.
Respondents also reported that they felt more responsibility for taking care of nature. Consequently, they were more willing to help the environment by recycling, picking up litter, conserving water and composting. Meanwhile, others said they’d donate to nature charities, plant trees and help in beach clean-ups.
Most people don’t bother learning survival skills because of how convenient things have become. Today, nearly everything can be done at the touch of a button or screen.
But that won’t always be the case. When SHTF, cell phones and gadgets can only do so much. Necessities, such as food and water, might be difficult to come by. You might even find yourself forced to build a fire, fashion a makeshift shelter or tend to your own wounds and injuries to survive.
But as the survey commissioned by Avocado Green Mattress shows, the majority of Americans aren’t prepared. Don’t let yourself be caught unaware. Here are some important wilderness survival tips that could mean the difference between life and death:
Learn more about wilderness survival tips and skills at Survival.news.
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Tagged Under: disaster, disaster survival, outdoor skills, preparedness, prepper, prepping, SHTF, survival, Survival Tips, survivalist, wilderness survival
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