Food from the Fire

Live wilderWhich wood?

Step by step

Gather small, similar sized samples of dry wood from a range of species, such as oak, ash, birch, pine, hazel, elder and willow.
Test each one in turn on a small, controlled fire. Note how quickly it catches, how brightly and hotly it burns and how much smoke it makes. Note too how long it burns for and what kind of embers it leaves once burned down.

The full Wilding activity guide (what you need, safety, variations and questions to wonder about): re-wild.co.uk/g/which-wood/
Food from the Fire · re-wild.co.uk

Live wilderPositioning a fire

Step by step

If a fire altar or wood fuelled stove is not available, consider positioning your fire somewhere that has already been used for a fire before, since a new fire site will permanently change the local ecology.
Once you have decided a fire is genuinely needed, and with the landowner's permission, find a sheltered spot in the landscape.
Check the ground is not thick with peaty soil, leaves, needles or roots. Make sure it has no glassy rocks such as flint, or stones that have been sitting in water: both can crack or explode when heated.
Check there is no tree within 2 metres, no tent or building within 5 metres, and that the spot is not downwind of the prevailing wind or exposed to sudden gusts.
Make sure the area is away from combustible material and that you will not need to disturb or destroy living plants to make room.
Check there are no low, overhanging branches above the site. Once satisfied, clear an area twice the size of your intended fire down to bare earth, removing all dead leaves and wood.
To stop your tinder touching damp ground, build a raft style platform from dry, finger thick branches, criss crossing more than one layer at right angles if needed.

The full Wilding activity guide (what you need, safety, variations and questions to wonder about): re-wild.co.uk/g/positioning-a-fire/
Food from the Fire · re-wild.co.uk

Live wilderLaying & using a criss-cross fire

Step by step

Lay a row of parallel wood fuel pieces of similar thickness on cleared, level ground or a fire platform.
Lay a second row on top at right angles to the first, leaving finger-width gaps for air.
Keep building in this criss-cross pattern until it is big enough for the embers you need: for cooking for a small group, around 4 to 6 layers and no higher than knee height.
Build a small fire of tinder and kindling on the top layer and light it.
Let it burn down through the layers. In 30 to 45 minutes you will have a deep, even bed of embers ready for cooking.

The full Wilding activity guide (what you need, safety, variations and questions to wonder about): re-wild.co.uk/g/laying-and-using-a-criss-cross-fire/
Food from the Fire · re-wild.co.uk

Live wilderMaking a feather stick fire lighter

Step by step

Baton the piece of round wood along its grain so it splits in half.
Split these 2 pieces further until you have roughly 8 splints of a similar size.
Select the pieces that seem best suited to shaving into feather sticks, avoiding anything too twisted or knotty, and set aside any less suitable splints to use on your fire platform instead.
Select a splint and hold 1 end with your non dominant hand so it stands vertical along its grain, resting the other end on the wood block. Holding the knife in a fist grip, carve a smooth surface along the edges of the splint. Using the same grip, shave along the length of the wood, aiming to produce a dense cluster of curls that all end at a similar point. Pointing the knife tip downward as you shave tends to make a tighter curl, and pointing it upward makes a looser, more open curl. Holding the knife roughly at right angles to the splint makes short, thick shavings rather than long curls.
Repeat this process to make between 4 and 6 feather sticks.

The full Wilding activity guide (what you need, safety, variations and questions to wonder about): re-wild.co.uk/g/making-a-feather-stick-fire-lighter/
Food from the Fire · re-wild.co.uk