Campus Recreation Tests Students’ Fire-Making Skills With Workshop

Andre True, a freshman, crouched over a pile of twigs and logs, resolutely striking a flint and steel. Sparks flew into shreds of paper piled among the wood until a tiny orange flame kindled. Kathryn Ward, an outdoor adventure coordinator for Campus Recreation, encouraged True, instructing her on how to keep the flame lit.

True attended the Fire Building and Survival Shelter Workshop, hosted by Ward and her assistant Eden Harnage at Camp Hydaway on April 10. 

“It’s actually the first time we’ve done this sort of clinic before,” Ward said. “Most of our events are titled as ‘trips’ or ‘races.’” 

There have been two workshops this semester, she explained — the Fire Building workshop, and, three weeks earlier, one titled Back-Country
Cooking. 

“We’re still finding our niche of people who are interested in the clinics… We’re just adding new stuff, and new stuff doesn’t kick off right away.” 

So far, the biggest roadblock has been a lack of exposure. Ward said that six students attended the Back-Country Cooking workshop. Due to a typo in the signup page, where the registration deadline was listed as March 9 rather than April 9, True was the only student who attended the Fire Building workshop. 

“I am not disappointed that only one person came,” Ward said. “It was a lot of fun being able to work so closely with one person and really cater to what it was that he wanted to learn.”

True said he was really happy to be able to attend the event. 

“I feel it’s kind of important to be able to learn how to do this, because even just a 100 years ago people knew how to do this, normally,” True said. “And it’s just fun, you’re out here just enjoying nature, and it’s quiet, and you’re not thinking about school and classes and work, you’re just at peace.”

During the event, Ward and Harnage demonstrated three different types of fires. After the fires, the staff walked through some basic shelter exercises. They gave True basic materials and allowed him to construct a spontaneous design, then explained what worked and what didn’t. Then they demonstrated a debris shelter in miniature — a shelter made of small branches interwoven between larger ones and insulated with leaves. 

Campus Recreation plans on hosting more outdoor workshops for the Fall
semester. 

“This was kind of like a trial period,” Ward said. “And if they’re successful, then absolutely, we’d love to do more.” 

She added that the department isn’t certain yet what the workshops next semester will be – they may repeat the same skills they’ve taught previously, or they might branch out and try something new.

“One of our values is experiential education, and so this really just fits right in, because we’re teaching students how to do it…. it’s an experience in and of itself, but we’re teaching,” Ward said. “My hope for all of my participants is that they can walk away knowing something valuable that they did not previously know.”

Christine Walker is a News Reporter.