Bring it on Brum commissioned EcoBirmingham to run five pilot ‘outdoor cooking’ workshops. Ecobirmingham is an environmental charity that delivers grass roots activities, events and programmes that engage, educate and stimulate communities and volunteers; supporting, advising, challenging and training organisations and influencing wider social change through dissemination, partnerships, research and internships.
The workshops covered the following outcomes…
- Children and leaders are introduced to fire safety around the pit and fire circle
They will learn…
- How to build a fire safely
- How to forage for fire materials (if available on site), learning what works best, in which order
- How to prepare a stick for cooking by safely learning to whittle
How to prepare the food to cook on the fire and share the meal at the end of the session
Campfire cooking is a whole sensory experience and there is something magical about lighting a fire without matches!
An activity that involves a campfire offers many benefits to learners’ development. Children and adults gain knowledge and skills in fire-lighting and fire safety, which are both fun and help children learn to manage their own risks.
A campfire is also a great opportunity and novel way of introducing learners to cooking. Preparing food and eating together around the fire fosters a sense of camaraderie among the group, promotes fine motor skills (by chopping and stirring), can boosts children’s confidence in their own abilities and can help promote a healthy relationship with food and nature, all of which can benefit learners in wider life.
We are also hoping that the workshops will inspire our HAF providers to develop their skills further, so that they can feel confident to deliver similar workshops in the future by themselves.
‘It was so amazing. I knew the kids would love this. They were our older children and they were so invested’ Eat, Make, Play, Bring It On Brum provider.