I love bonfires in the country!Big, rural backyard firepits and campfire cooking on your own property can be remarkable and eco-friendly group entertainmentBonfires on our farm were one of my most cherished group activities when raising our kids in the country. Friends would just “stare” into our blazing backyard firepit and not want to leave. Our town friends loved the idea of campfire cooking right from our own acreage.
Fire is one of the main forces of nature. When harnessed, it soothes and draws out the best in everyone. Rural bonfires can be enjoyed in any season that fires are allowed. A flickering flame, laughter, friendship, and the radiant heat of an open air blaze become a gathering to remember. Like all Great Group Activities articles, Bonfires is copyright protected, but it’s easy and legal to share this article with others with the tools at the bottom of the page. Making bonfires true group activities Allow everyone involved in your bonfire gathering to contribute in some way. This makes it more “their” bonfire: - Even young kids can help build a pile of crumpled recycled black and white newspaper used to help start the fire. 
- Families can make fire starters together ahead of time by embedding a wick into pine cones then dipping them into soy wax. Soy wax cleans easily and doesn’t leave a residue for those with more permanent backyard firepits who want to keep things tidy. They can fill paper egg carton sections half full with pure wood sawdust and pour warm soy wax into the sections. When hardened, cut the sections apart for fire starters. - People can contribute bricks and help build a brick fire ring if you don’t have a permanent backyard firepit. - Guests can contribute eco-friendly firewood (see below). Campfire recipes & campfire songbook Also of possible interest: An affiliate e-book, Ultimate Campfire Kitchen Camping Guide, has 580 recipes for campfires including: Honeymoon Sourdoughs, Dutch Oven Hopi, Campfire Bannock, Eggs on a Raft, Jamaica Bananas and lots more. (It also tells how to make a camping trip successful). The downloadable Great American Campfire Songbook has more than 80 great campfire singalong songs with music, lyrics, and chords, as well as a lyrics-only version and information on how to make a sing-along successful. Eco-friendly bonfires without killing trees -- modern methods and old European secrets - Each time you enjoy a large outdoor flame with guests, provide a place for donations to the Arbor Day Foundation, which uses it to help replant the country’s national forests that clean the air and add to the world’s supply of treed eco-systems. Or instead of asking for a direct donation hold a fire-lit auction to add fun to the bonfire gathering and collect money to donate. - Use ecologically harvested firewood. If your farm doesn’t have its own woodlot, secure local sustainably harvested firewood. The best is from “coppiced” trees. Coppicing means harvesting a tree in a manner that never kills it. It sprouts again from the trunk and regrows. Not only that, when it's coppiced, it's roots expand and sequencer more carbon into the soil than before. It’s an old European forest management method used for centuries to harvest wood products while keeping the forests alive and well. Coppicing works on many deciduous trees, which is a bonus, because the best wood for fire is dried hardwood which comes from deciduous trees, softwood being mostly the evergreens. 
- Burn hardwoods that have been properly dried, or cured. Deciduous trees are all considered hardwoods, although some are denser than others. Avoid the softwoods which are mostly evergreen conifers when possible. But even if burning softwood, avoid burning them green and uncured. This produces much more polluting smoke. Plus, it’s inefficient as far as giving out heat and flame, and is not as warm because much of the heat is used to drive off the water. - Plant your own mini backyard woodland or even a single tree of your own that can eventually be coppiced for your bonfire wood needs, and offsets carbon emissions. The Arbor Day Foundation offers "Backyard Woods," a small guide that shows how to plant a safe and earth enhancing forest for owners of one to 10 acres. According to the Foundation, 49 percent of the earth’s forests are in private ownership, and those that own backyard sized woods make up 60 percent of all USA private forest landowners. Smaller parcels of wooded areas individually and collectively make a big impact on the planet. A secret to making smoke stop following you around Because of an air vacuum effect, smoke from outdoor bonfires seeks solid objects and moves away from air pockets. If a group stands to the east of the fire on a windless night, the smoke will eventually go east. If they move to the west, the smoke will follow them. 
If possible, build your backyard firepit next to a large, tall fireproof object such as a boulder or tall barrel of stones. This gives smoke the solid object it seeks instead of your guests. Rural backyard firepits There are beautiful backyard firepits to purchase, and custom-made ones can be stunning. But, rural firepits for big bonfires are sometimes temporary and built from year to year in different places. 
-A section of a large, toxin-free metal tube can be secured into the ground to hold the fire within. -Bricks are good for surrounding bonfires. - Some stones work well, but different stones react differently to flame. Sandstone withstands heat pretty well. !!!Some types of river rock can even explode! Use caution. Limestone, basalt, shale and granite can crack or disintegrate. Some people use an inner lining of brick and an outer ring of stone if they’re not sure what type of stone they have. 
- You may also be interested in our articles on potlucks,or backyard camping, or perhaps kids' cooking outdoors.- Libraries are loaded with more ideas on campfire cooking: from burying potatoes into the coals to making fireside cornbread and wild berry tarts. You may never want to cook inside again! Safety - Fire permits are sometimes needed, and there are even fire bans in certain locations during certain times of the year. - Contact your closest fire department for requirements concerning outdoor fires, as well as a list of updated fire safety instructions that are both general and specifically pertain to the landscape of your local area.  Custom Search Return from Bonfires to Great Group Activities Home |
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