Fire

Nature Games and Activities for Church Camps

One of the most visible and most vital natural processes that occurs in nature is fire. We often loathe wildfires and their destructive power, but very few people appreciate the rejuvenation that fire brings to an ecosystem. In fact, some ecosystems, such as prairies and savannas, rely on fire as a normal factor in the environment. The seeds of some pines do not open unless exposed to fire, so new growth can only come with destruction. While it is difficult to express the renewal that a fire brings without viewing the results of a forest fire, this game at least can help campers to appreciate the power of fires and provides a door to discussing the importance of fire to ecosystems.

Play this game in a forest. Divide your group into half, one half representing fire and the other the firefighters. Give the fire orange ribbons and give the firefighters blue ribbons; give them more ribbons than you possibly think that they can use. The fire must start from one location, and must move in the direction that you indicate as the wind’s direction (you might change this direction once or twice during the game). The fire must wrap orange ribbon around a tree to mark it as burned. The firefighters mark trees with blue ribbon, representing that the trees have been treated with a fire retardant or chopped down trees to create a fire line which the fire cannot leap across. The fire team cannot pass between two trees that have been marked by the firefighters. The firefighters win if they can successfully contain the fire in a given area after five to ten minutes of play. If after that time, the fire is not contained but still spreading to other areas, then the fire wins.

After playing a game about the power of fire, discuss some of fire's life-giving qualities. Ask if the campers can think of any times when fires can be good for nature. Lead them through a brief discussion of the benefits of occasional burns. While it may seem odd that new growth comes from death, we hold that belief as a tenet of our faith. To live with Christ, we must also die. Just as a fire consumes the old and allows the new to grow, so does Baptism absorb us into death allowing the God's new creation to grow inside of us.