Minimize Campfire Impact
Fire Race
Investigate the merits of small fires and backpack stoves
Goal
Participants will experience use of a low impact fire and a backpack stove.
Time
30 minutes
Objectives
Participants will be able to:
- safely light and use a backpacking stove to boil water
- lay, light, and extinguish a low impact fire
Materials
- open outdoor area safe for fires
- backpack stove and small pot for each 6 or 8 participants
- firepan or pie tin, small wire grill, and small pot for each 6 or 8 participants
- matches
- gallon of water
- supply of tinder, kindling, and small fuel wood
Motivator
- Clean, efficient cooking means a more enjoyable camping experience.
- Being able to make a small, low impact fire means you consume less fuel and have a backup in case of stove problems.
Presentation
- If participants have not used backpack stoves, demonstrate how they work
- Divide into groups of 3 or 4
- Give each team matches and a cup of water in their small pot
- Half the teams get a backpack stove and the other half get fire-making supplies
- Explain that teams will race to boil one cup of water. There will be a fastest stove and fastest fire winner
- On your GO signal, teams proceed to heat their water
Reflection
-
If there is time and interest, have teams switch from fire to stove and race again.
- Which cooking type was fastest, easiest, cleanest, cheapest? Which of those matters when camping?
- Is the type of fire you built here typical? Why is it better or worse than what is normally used?
- What do you need to pack along and what do you need to find at your campsite in order to cook using either method?
