Learning how to build a fire

Striking a match is something many of us take for granted, but Riverview Collegiate students learned Thursday it wasn't always that easy to build a fire.
"It's a skill that we've had for at least 700,000 years, starting fires," said Joe Milligan, education co-ordinator for the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation.
Milligan was teaching the group of students in Riverview's new wildlife management course a variety of different ways to start a fire, whether it be with a bow drill - essentially a tool used to rub two sticks together - or a lighter.
The course is geared toward students with an interest in conservation jobs or simply outdoor hobbies and survival skills.
"From a historical perspective (learning early fire-starting techniques) gives us a link to our ancestors," Milligan said. For the students in this particular course it has more practical applications in terms of survival skills and career goals.
"It's an essential skill for safety," he said.
Milligan demonstrated the use of lighters, different types of matches, trade steels - the combination of a steel struck against a stone to make sparks - a flint rod, and the bow drill. Many of the methods began with what he referred to as tinder, a length of shredded jute cord.
"We use the jute cord as a substitute for natural things you might find in nature, like the inner bark from a poplar tree," said Milligan.
After Milligan's demonstration, the students broke off into small groups to build their own fires, on which they would be cooking their lunches.
Brittany Godlen, a Grade 11 student, took on the bow drill method. As her classmates succeeded in lighting their fires with flint rods, or even matches, she persisted with the bow drill.
"Who doesn't want to say they can rub two sticks together and make a fire?" she said.
Godlen was interested in taking the new wildlife management course because it fits in with her personal philosophies.
"I'm a vegetarian and I'm really eco-friendly," she said. "I care a lot about the environment and stuff, and so it seemed sort of obvious that I should join this class."
The wildlife management curriculum is meant to make students aware of the importance of wildlife in the lives of individuals and the context of society as a whole.
Students have done field work such as fish netting, bird counts, and habitat studies. With Wakamow Valley within walking distance, students also have the opportunity to go canoeing, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing.
People like Milligan and Darrell Crabbe of the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation have been useful resources for teacher Kelly Grass, along with University of Regina biology professor Chris Somers, whose students have come to share their knowledge with the class.
Kaitlyn Hansen, a Grade 12 student, found the class useful because she wants to be a conservation officer, and wished it had been introduced earlier so she could have taken the Grade 11 level class as well.

Suzanne Boyer can be reached at 691-1255.