I attended the Basic Survival course back in April of 2007. The school is located deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains of west-central Virginia, and the setting and surrounding forests are absolutely gorgeous. We had a relatively small class, so the pace was just right. I learned a lot about basic survival techniques, and though I had read about many of the techniques before, the school gave me the opportunity to put into practice what I had only read about. Classes are led by Del Hall, whose knowledge about survival and woodsman-ship borders on encyclopedic. I really enjoyed the tracking class and the finding wild edibles class. The food is absolutely delicious and is prepared for you by Del's wife, Lynne, who also helps Del run the school. A variety of snacks and beverages are also available 24/7 and you never go to sleep hungry. A highlight for me was the ice-cold and very fresh unpasteurized pure goat's milk available every morning. I'm not a big milk drinker, but this stuff was elixir! All in all it was a very educational and worthwhile trip. The only thing preventing me from giving the school 5 stars is the strong personality of Del Hall. Although an excellent teacher, he is very much a Type A personality (like me) and there were some minor personality clashes. Also, he is very religious and would go off on metaphysical tangents during class, when all I wanted to learn were the practical aspects. To be fair, Nature Awareness School has removed ALL of the old survival courses from its website, and now seems to be a religious retreat of sorts. I'd return to the school if they brought back their old courses in tracking and edibles, but since I am an atheist, the school no longer offers anything useful to me. read more