here's this years post of the fur trade program at the Maplewood Minnesota Nature Center.once again i took a role as the fire tender and fire building teacher at the Metis camp.
i don't have a Voyageur outfit like the folks who work at the center so i just put on a sash and my Scot bonnet with a Hudson's Bay Company pin.over the two weeks that the school kids,fourth and fifth grades,were out i spent from around eight AM to three or four in the afternoon outside.



the staff showing the kids how to use a bow drill.they also had all the fur trade items and wild foods that would have been used in the camps at that time.



my part was to spoon out the wild rice cooked over the fire and then teach them how to make a fire with one match.i told them that there was no pretend at this station and they would really make a fire,went over the safety rules and did my demo.each group got a small bag with birch bark and small sticks.as this is a nature center we don't want the woods and brush picked over for fuel.the teachers and parent helpers stood around and watched and gave some support but the kids did all of the fire building and struck the wood kitchen matches.the success rate was very high with most getting it going on the first try.if not another one in the group got a chance.many had never made a fire or lit a match and when their little fire blazed up there was lots of hand clapping and cheers!!



i told the staff at the Nature Center that they thought they were getting a volunteer but for me it was a vacation.the chance to get outside and cook my lunch over an open fire was one of the best parts.

Nicely done Canoedogs!

Nice job, now I want to know whats in the pot? it sure looks good.

Awesome Canoe. It looks like a fun filled learning experience.

Well done, sounds like you had as much fun as the kids

As kids, we were such pyromaniacs, we started one match fires year round. Our reasoning was the more matches it took to get one fire going, the fewer we would have later on to make additional fires with. Even as maniacs, it pays to be thrifty. You can better feed your obsession that way.

I hate you. Oh, how I despise you. Grumble, grumble grumble.

Lucky man - getting to spend time outdoors, pass on your knowledge, and get a hot meal!

Me, I'm turning pasty white from working under flourescent lights, getting sick of Subway or galley food. Woe is me. (lol)

Props to you on your teaching skills! Looks like a blast.

That was so great!

Can you imagine teaching the kids something like that, and one of them ends up really needing it, and being able to do it?

What's the green stuff in the pot?

Sue

That's why I like working with Scouts. Camping is a monthly activity, and kids love to learn - so long as you make it fun.

Is that a La-Z-Boy chair behind you in the first picture????

OK..the chair and the green glop in the bucket over the fire-
when i did this program last year i sat on the chopping block or a log next to the fire,that got a bit old after the first few days.so this time i brought a lawn chair,put an insulated pad on the seat and covered the rest with three Army blankets and a red trappers blanket,a badger pelt was the finishing touch.all that plus a log with a axe driven into it and a wood pack frame behind it gave the aluminum chair that "heap of blankets" look.
the "green stuff"..that's pea soup made from compressed blocks. not sold in the States i had a contact in Germany send me 25 or so tubes of the stuff.made by Knorr it's about the same as the WW One German Army "iron ration" only made with less lard.i plan to use this in the PFD survival kit i'm working on and this was a good test to see how it cooked up over a fire.i have made the soup at home or over a camp stove on canoe trips but i wanted to try it out and this was a good place to do that.i found that it takes a long time to dissolve that tablet of compressed soup so i may replace it with a powdered one in the kit.

Great job with the kids. Events like these hosted by people like you can kindle a spark in them to respect and explore their outdoor heritage.

Great job, and I have the same comment as Ken, this is why I love being Scoutmaster, get to pass things like this onto the kids.

I've gotten to the point where I'd rather be out with the kids at a Scouting event than out with my co-workers who do nothing but complain about everything. At least the kids love to learn new things.

Keep up the great work with them.

I went to an event like this as a kid but it was not scouting. We got in groups, each group had one match, and we had to get a fire going from available materials. BUT we were not given instructions beforehand. What a learning experience that was. We had a fireplace at home but with a gas log lighter so as a kid I was never taught the basics of fire-making. This trip was how I learned.

Great post!

We do something similar with the scouts at our winter camp. We did some PWYP with them. We let them know we were taken them into the woods for a "survival" exercise. Once at location, we told them they are now lost in the woods and a storm is coming within 2 hours. They practiced improvised shelter building and fire starting.

They definitely struggled with the shelter, but most were able to do the fire with one match.

Does anyone remember the Klondike Derby? We did this in Scouts when I was a teen.

One of the most fun (but cold) things I did in Scouts.

Terrific youth activity and Thanks for posting it CANOEDOGS.

Mike