Today on our lunch break, we walked over to our favourite place in the city, just a few blocks from our office, and partook in some random lunch-break survival skills. Luckily the sun was out just enough to make this to-do doable.

Here you’ll see what’s called the “Shadow Stick Method,” a basic navigational tool to help you determine which direction is north. (If ever you’re lost in the middle of nowhere without a compass, knowing which way is north could save your life.)

On a patch of flat, clear ground, jab a stick upright (at least 3-feet) into the floor-bed. Take note of where its shadow falls with a pebble. Wait at least fifteen minutes and then take note of where its shadow has moved with another pebble. Join the two pebbles and you have your west to east direction line (the first pebble being west, and the second pebble being east). Stand with your two feet at each pebble, with your back facing your stick. If you’ve done everything correctly, you should be facing north.

So easy, right?!