Why is fire so important for community building?

admin
, 10 June 2024
Why is fire so important for community building?
Fire and community © Amy King

Sophie Atkinson

Youth Action Officer

A colleague asked me the other day why I had invested time and money in fire and cooking equipment for my new role as Youth Action Officer, as they were curious as to how this activity fits in with conservation. It’s a good question, one with multiple answers.

Having a fire circle on site where you’re working with a group establishes a base for everyone. It is clear to everybody that this is a place they can return to if they need a break, if they need to warm up, or if they’d like to socialise with their peers. This can be very important for children and young people who need to feel comfortable in the space. We start and finish the day at the fire circle.

Mastering kelly kettles © Miles Davies
Mastering kelly kettles © Miles Davies

The creation of the fire is also important for teaching practical skills, imparting knowledge about the natural environment, and building confidence. Our groups learn the difference between greenwood and deadwood, and how to identify standing deadwood. We explain why to avoid decaying wood – this creates important habitat for fungi and invertebrates. They learn why certain deadwood burns faster than others, for example, Birch burns quickly as its bark contains oil. This can lead to further questions and opportunities for learning, why does the Birch tree contain oil? How could we use this information to our advantage when fire-building? Do we need to ensure we pair it with slow burning wood to make sure the fire doesn’t burn out? As with all of our work, we ensure there is an understanding surrounding sustainability, we create a fire for a purpose and don’t overuse resources.

Children also learn about fire safety – keeping their distance from the fire, being mindful where to have it, to avoid having a fire on a very dry day, and getting to share the experience of extinguishing it carefully and fully with water when the day/event is done.

Our groups learn to use bow saws, axes, and loppers, and work as a team. They get to enjoy the fruits of their labour when they eat a warm meal cooked over the fire they built, and that sense of achievement may encourage them to come back again and continue taking action for nature.

Fire is exciting, inviting, and a symbol of the great outdoors. It has long been a favourite activity for all ages, so we say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782685779.02120 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782685779.04550.0243Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782685779.04560.0001Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782685779.04570Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782685779.04570Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/why-is-fire-so-important-for-community-building
    [s] => why-is-fire-so-important-for-community-building
    [1] => why-is-fire-so-important-for-community-building
)
1782685779.0460.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782685779.0470.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782685779.04880.0018 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782685779.04930.0004INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782685779.05130.002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22397844
1782685779.05180.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22397844
1782685779.05240.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-28 22:29:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-28 22:29:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782685779.05390.0015 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='why-is-fire-so-important-for-community-building')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-28 22:29:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782685779.05640.0025 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782685779.05690.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3411 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-28 22:29:00'
1782685779.05770.0008 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782685779.05820.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782685779.05880.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=264 LIMIT 1
1782685779.05950.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782685779.05970.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782685779.06050.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-28 22:29:00' AND postSlug='why-is-fire-so-important-for-community-building'
1782685779.08080.0203Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782685779.08140.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782685779.0830.0017Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782685779.08330.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782685779.08410.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782685779.08550.0014 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782685779.08830.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782685779.0890.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782685779.0910.002Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782685779.09110 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782685779.09180.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782685779.09230.0004 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782685779.09460.0023 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782685779.09550.0009 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782685779.09620.0006 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782685779.0990.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782685779.09980.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782685779.10180.002 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782685779.10220.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782685779.10250.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782685779.10310.0006Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782685779.10350.0003 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='why-is-fire-so-important-for-community-building')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-28 22:29:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782685779.10530.0019 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782685779.10580.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782685779.1090.0032Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782685779.10990.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3411 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782685779.15690.0469 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782685779.15710.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782685779.15730.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782685779.15820.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782685779.15880.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782685779.15930.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782685779.16130.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782685779.16170.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782685779.16350.0018 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782685779.16440.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782685779.1650.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782685779.16680.0018 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782685779.16910.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782685779.16950.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782685779.17140.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782685779.17430.0029 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782685779.17490.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782685779.17550.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782685779.17760.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782685779.18180.0041 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782685779.18380.002 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782685779.18640.0026 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782685779.18710.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782685779.18760.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782685779.18960.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782685779.19010.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782685779.19190.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782685779.19310.0012Request time: 0.1754
1782685779.19310Process time: 0.1752
1782685779.19320Memory: 1.6218