Our journeys in the forest continue to grow and build week after week. Today, we were introduced to two tree allies: white pine, which has higher contents of vitamin C than oranges and eastern hemlock, good for coughs and colds. We noticed all the differences between the needles, the stems and bark, to prepare ourselves for harvesting more at camp to make tea.
We also gathered willow and bittersweet to make charcoal pencils. The children used their nails or sharp stones to scrape all the bark off and place them in tins with a small air hole in it. The tins are then placed in a fire to char. The lack of oxygen prevents the wood from combusting, or going up in flames, and creates deep and dense charcoal to draw with. The pencils were used to draw their favorite part of the day on paper to close our day.
All of these crafts could not have been possible without a good fire. When we first arrived at camp, the firepit had a strange and funny set up. Two balloons on a string hung over the pit. The group had 10 minutes to gather as much wood as they could and figure out how to make the balloons pop. Logan helped make the fire structure and Reishi lit the fire with a match. We watched as the fire grew and the wind started to shift the flames away from the balloons and string. We made a human shield and the flames returned to where we wanted them. Loud POPS surprised us and we were even able to make the fire large enough to burn through the twine.
In Connection,
The Woolly Bear Team
November 11, 2022