Didn’t take long for my scan of AktoMan’s links to turn up something nifty. A blogger who calls himself American Bushman notes the many uses of birch bark:

Birch is an especially handy tree as it can be used for so many things. You can make syrup from the sap, containers from the bark, and spoons from the wood. These, of course, are just three examples of the many things the birch gives us.

There is also the polypore which can be used in place of bandages and the tinder fungus which can be used in our firestarting endeavors.

Once I’ve gathered a handful of bark, I stuff it in my shirt pocket and try not to smash it to bits. As I gather it from smaller branches and twigs it is usually curled up in the shape of the branch. Once I get home I lay it flat under a weight and it’ll dry to flat sheets. A couple of these flat sheets will go back into my pocket for the next outing. If I need it to get a fire started I’ll just scrape up the inside of the bark, strike my firesteel with the spine of my Mini Canadian (or the awl on my Swisstool) and that should be enough to get me going.

From the Bushman’s first entry:

Here you will find information about my quest to learn (and teach) outdoor skills that are being lost.

Some will pigeon-hole them as “survival” skills. They are. I am not, however, a “watch out for the zombies” survivalist. I’m just a guy who enjoys getting out into the woods confident in my ability to make it out again when I’m ready to go home.

Here you will also find gear evaluations. I am an incurable gear freak and constantly convince myself that whatever I buy will be the last of that type of item I’ll ever need…until the next great thing comes along. If I’m going to blow the kids’ inheritance I might just as well pass along what I’ve learned.

Looks like a worthy addition to the blogroll.