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Glossary
The following is a list of vocabulary words that you need to know to converse as a student of earth skills. For more detailed and comprehensive vocabulary, refer to the back of your field guides.
Algae – plant that reproduces by cell division, not flowers, such as "seaweed;" grows profusely atop lakes due to an overabundance of nitrogen from lawn and farm fertilizer; the most abundant algae grows in ocean water, and it is the primary source of oxygen in our atmosphere.
Alpine – an area of high altitude on mountains, often covered by snow through the majority of the year; features hearty plants and animals, and may include glaciers surrounded by meadows.
Amphibian * – any of various cold-blooded, smooth-skinned vertebrate organisms of the class Amphibia, such as a frog, toad, or salamander, characteristically hatching as aquatic larvae that breathe by means of gills and metamorphosing to an adult form having air-breathing lungs.
Animal * – any organism of the kingdom Animalia, distinguished from plants by certain typical characteristics, such as the power of locomotion, fixed structure and limited growth, and nonphotosynthetic metabolism.
Anthropod – “primitive” animals, often with segmented bodies, such as worms, shrimps, etc.
Anthropoid * – resembling man. Said of the apes of the family Pongidae, which includes gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and gibbons.
Anthropomorphic – giving “human” characteristics to animals, plants, elements and deities. Naturalists do this commonly, but materialistic scientists often look down on this practice.
Arachnid * – any of various arthropods of the class Arachnida, such as a spider, scorpion, mite, or tick, characteristically having four pairs of legs.
Astrology – the interpretation, or meaning, of celestial arrangements.
Astronomy – the observation of celestial bodies and how they work in the physical world.
Baseline Behavior – what an animal does under calm situations, when not in danger.
Biology * – The science of life and life processes, including the study of structure, functioning, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of living organisms.
Bioregion – the extent of an area inside which plants, animals and geology are similar, often from the continental divide of a mountain range to another, or to the edge of an ocean; often the world boundaries of a naturalist, drawing gifts of the land and sea in his or her area.
Bufiet – the "man who planted trees" in southern France after the first world war in a 50 square mile area that lay desolate after it had been clear-cut centuries ago.
Carnivore * – Any animal belonging to the order Carnivora, which includes predominantly flesh-eating mammals such as dogs, cats, bears, and weasels.
Cell – the ultimate unit of an organism but organisms may be single celled as well such as the amoebas and paramecium.
Chemistry * – The science of the composition, structure, properties, and reactions of matter, especially of atomic and molecular systems.
Chlorophyll * – Any of a group of related green pigments found in photosynthetic organisms, especially: a. Chlorophyll a, a waxy blue-black microcrystalline green-plant pigment, C55H72MgN4O5, with a characteristic blue-green alcohol solution. b. Chlorophyll b, a similar green-plant pigment, C55H70MgN4O6, having a brilliant green alcohol solution.
Crustacean * – Any of various predominantly aquatic arthropods of the class Crustacea, including lobsters, crabs, shrimps, and barnacles, characteristically having a segmented body, a chitinous exoskeleton, and paired, jointed limbs.
Current – the movement of water, often measured in knots.
Desert – an area whose rocks and sands are naturally exposed and which receives rainfall very rarely but which, as everywhere, thrives with plant and animal species.
Ecology/Ecological – study of the relations amongst plants, animals, and the elements.
Ecosystem – an entire area that includes the same general species, nearly the same altitude, climate and other features.
Edible – something that can be safely consumed by people and which nourishes, or has some other benefit, such as hydrogenated oils that does not nourish but which helps satiate hunger.
Elements – the building materials of the physical world, each with its own molecular structure, such as pure gold, pure oxygen, etc.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1883) – the mentor of Thoreau and neighbors; initially a clergyman, he became a Natural Philosopher; wrote poetry among which are Snowstorm and Concord Bridge; the latter was written for the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Revolutionary war and the Battle of Lexington and Concord.
Embryo – the elemental unit of new life following the union of sperm with the ovum; the blastosphere is the origin, growing as the cells divide and multiply, the embryo takes shape, growing and differentiating into anatomical parts which become the fetus, the unborn mammal that resides in the uterus or womb prior to birth.
Environment/Environmental – existence of everything that surrounds us.
Epidermis – and dermis are parts of the skin; the epidermis is a distinct external layer of the skin that is shed and exchanged during life.
Fauna * – animals collectively; especially, the animals of a particular region or time.
Flora * – plants collectively; especially, the plants of a particular region or time.
Foliage * – the leaves of growing plants; plant leaves collectively.
Fruit – the seed casing of a plant/vegetable produced after it is fertilized while flowering.
Gait – the pattern an animal walks, such as running, or in a pattern that uses the least energy (often direct register - see register, direct and indirect).
Game Bird – birds that are legal to hunt during their hunting seasons; these are the only birds from which it is legal to have feathers and other parts, like a few of the ducks and pheasants.
Gill – the "lungs" of a fish; attain oxygen from water to supply the blood; forms carbon dioxide as a biproduct, creating a symbiotic exchange with plants which need carbon dioxide and which, in turn, produce oxygen as a biproduct.
Grass – plants that produce seeds, such as wheat, and which often grow taller than humans. Release carbon monoxide when cut, a source of degraded air quality when done in abundance.
Herb – any flowering plant used in food or as medicine.
Indicator Species – plants and animals in an ecosystem which ecologists determine indicate the health of the environment.
Insect * – any of numerous usually small invertebrate animals of the class Insecta (or Hexapoda), having an adult stage characterized by three pairs of legs, a segmented body with three major divisions, and usually two pairs of wings.
Invertebrates * – animals having no backbone or spinal column; not vertebrate.
Invisibility – the ability to be in nature without effecting its patterns.
Knot – about 1.15 miles per hour, or about 1.85 kilometers per hour.
Latitude – measures how far north or south you are in the world, pictured as circles going around the earth parallel to the equator.
Photosynthesis * – the synthesis of complex organic materials, esp. carbohydrates, from carbon dioxide, water, and inorganic salts, using sunlight as the source of energy and with the aid of a catalyst, as chlorophyll.
Potable – water that humans can drink with no ill side effects, a rarity now that diseases such as giardia and amoebic dysentery have spread throughout the world.
Predator – species that catch, kill, and eat animals for food.
Prey – species that are killed by an animal and eaten as food.
Primitive – resembling something that was in existence before the modern era; a derogatory term for many people, but for naturalists, this is an honored term.
Quantum Physics – observations of the function of the material world, describing cause and effect of action, such as the observation that nothing exists until it is observed; scientific explanation of mysterious serendipity in life.
Raptor – birds that catch and eat the flesh of other animalia; often called "birds of prey" or in effect, predatory birds; examples: owls, hawks.
Register, Direct & Indirect – how animals leave tracks. Direct Register shows a rear paw or hoof landing directly on the place where the animal's front paw or hoof landed. Indirect Register shows rear tracks not landing on the animal's front tracks.
Reptile * – any of various cold-blooded, usually egg-laying vertebrates of the class Reptilia, as a snake, lizard, crocodile, turtle, or dinosaur, having and external covering of scales or horny plates, and breathing by means of lungs.
Protozoa – are single cell organisms. They contain a nucleus and cytoplasm and all the chemical elements of life.
Rush – a plant that looks like a sedge or grass, but is "round," with a cylindrical stalk. Commonly grows in wetlands.
Scavenger – animals, including birds, which eat the flesh of dead animals.
Sea Mammal – mammals who live in salt water, such as whales.
Sedge – a grass-looking plant that has a thicker stalk and has "edges," unlike rushes, which are "round."
Snag – a "dead" tree that remains as habitat for other plants and animals.
Song Bird – all birds "sing," but "song birds" are the category of herbivore land birds (robins, wrens, etc.); other general categories are water birds and raptors.
Steppe – a naturally non-forested, rather arid area yet covered by plant life.
Stride – the distance between where the left and right feet of an animal land as they walk or run, measured heel-to-heel or toe-to-toe.
Survival – thriving in balance with nature, using primitive living skills, enhancing the environment beyond what is harvested.
Symbiotic – relationships that are mutually beneficial to two species, for example, some insects have a symbiotic relationship with trees because they eat other insects which may work to kill the tree, which in turn provides shelter for the helpful insect, or that Licorice Ferns grow on the mossy trunks of, say, a Bigleaf Maple Tree: the tree provides habitat and the moss and fern may retain water for the tree to sustain it through dry times, or protect it from cold winds.
Temperate Rainforest – forested regions in climates with little freezing nor hot temperatures; receive over 200 centimeters of rain annually, such as along the west coast of the Olympic Peninsula (WA) and Vancouver Island (BC).
Tracking – gaining awareness of patterns in plants, animals (including humans), and the elemental world, including the arts of track identification, behavior, trailing, and timing.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) – popularized Walden Pond near Concord, MA where he lived for two years, observing nature; known for his civil disobedience, individualism, naturalist lifestyle and his opposition of taxation.
Tide – the height of ocean water, whereas "current" refers to the movement of water; tides change as the gravity of the moon and sun, in relation to the earth's rotation, make ocean currents flow to places where the water then rises and later recedes as gravity lessens in that region. There are two "high tides" and two "low tides" each day, everywhere on earth even though the earth rotates only once in a day; this is due to centrifugal forces of gravity explained through physics.
Transition Areas – places wildlife tend to pass or congregate often. For example, the corner of a field bordering woods with a pond or stream close by.
Vegetable – any plant with stems, roots or leaves that humans eat.
Vertebrates * – any member of the subphylum Vertebrata, a primary division of the phylum Chordata that includes the fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, all of which are characterized by a segmented bony of cartilagineous spinal column.
Viruses – are microorganisms, smaller than single celled organisms or bacteria that require electron microscopy to see; there are probably useful viri but we think of them as pathogenic, causing diseases such as flu, viral meningitis, gastroenteritis.
Vision – an ability to see ahead of you.
Waterfowl – birds that swim on and live around water.
Weed – any plant that which people don't understand, or foreign plants which effectively "crowd out" native plant species.
Wildcrafting – enhancing symbiotic relationships in a natural area through the select harvest of non-domesticated plants for edible and medicinal uses.
Yeast – is a microorganism, bacteria that reproduce and form carbon dioxide; there are various forms of yeast, bakers, and brewers; yeast is probably miraculous.
* The definitions denoted with an asterisk came from the following source: Morris, W. eds. (1973). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.
Index to Wolf Journey (chapters currently uploaded)
• Introduction to Part One - Skills of the Naturalist
• Chapter 1 - Your Secret Place.
• Chapter 2 - Fears & Hazards.
• Chapter 3 - Sensory Awareness.
• Chapter 4 - Sketching & Journaling.
• Introduction to Part Two - Skills of the Tracker
• Chapter 5 - Humans and the Hidden Wilderness.
• Chapter 6 - Shape Shifting.
• Chapter 7 - Mammal Mysteries.
• Chapter 8 - Bird Vocalizations.
• Introduction to Book 3 - Skills of the Herbalist
• Chapter 9 - Caretaking Nature.
• Wolf Journey Handbook for Students & Teachers.
• Chapter 30: Glossary of Terms.
• Chapter 31: Outings Checklists.
• Chapter 32: Understanding Taxonomy.
• Remaining chapters to be uploaded asap.
Wolf Journey is available free online, although donations to the WOLF Foundation - Max Davis Scholarships for earth skills education are requested with the suggested amount of $1.00 per chapter or set of recordings you utilize, with checks payable to the WOLF Foundation, c/o Scott A. Davis, CPA, 103 E Holly #401, Bellingham, WA 98225, or by calling us at 360-799-1997 with your visa or mastercard. An alternative way to contribute is to become a WOLF Booster which gives you the additional benefits of board membership and complimentary access to the Wolf Camp property on Woods Lake. The latter alternative requires completing a property use form. Books and other resources which you will need for successful completion of field exercises throughout Wolf Journey can be purchased through our camp store once it is up and running. In the meantime, we recommend purchasing through Tom & Renee Elpel's wonderful online Granny's Country Store or simply email them at orders@grannysstore.com or call 406-287-3605 to order. We offer this book series as a correspondence course for Wolf Camp alumni and as part of our Summer Camps & School Year Classes and Residential Intensives & Training Camps curricula, but if you would like an instructor to guide you while studying these skills in your own area, we recommend clicking on PrimitiveSkillsLinks.Com to find an earth skills specialist near you who can personally review your field exercises and journaling work. Other schools and outdoor instructors who would like to use this curriculum for their own classes, mentoring, etc, are free to do so. We would appreciate donations, or having your students donate, to the WOLF Foundation as described above. As a supplement to (or instead of) completing the Wolf Journey book series, we also recommend signing up for the Kamana Naturalist Training Program through the Wilderness Awareness School which inspired many of our own field exercises. They can offer academic credit, and they specialize in correspondence mentoring no matter where a student is located.
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