Since 2015, Fort William Stramash Outdoor Nursery has celebrated bonfire night in style. It is one of the most popular events in the Stramash calendar with hundreds of tickets reserved and crowds of present and past children and their families coming along to celebrate regardless of the weather.
Most community bonfire events are standard affairs. You arrive, light a few sparklers, go “ooh” and “ah” at the fireworks and get pretty cold standing around the bonfire.
This event is entirely different. To begin with, the bonfire is not the main attraction. For the children, it’s an opportunity to play in the dark. The light from the bonfire, helps light up some of the near by structures.
There are also solar lights at key points throughout the site that light up when you go near them. This was originally a crime prevention measure but has proved useful for dark winter afternoons.
By attaching coloured overlays to the solar lights with clothes pegs, temporary colour has been achieved that make the site feel special.
In addition to all the outdoor play, bonfire and fireworks the indoor area is another gathering place. Families bring along lots of food to share. All-in-all, it’s a lovely example of how this nursery celebrates culture and the community that the nursery serves. It was lovely to be part of the occasion.
Finally, if like me you are trying to be more environmentally friendly and move away from single-use plastic, then the use of torches reflected into bottles of water can be an alternative to glow sticks, as illustrated above. With re-useable batteries and wind-up torches now available, it’s possible to adapt what you have seen in this blog post. Likewise, candle lanterns can be used to great effect with older children.
Cameron, the Fort William Team Leader, is always aiming to make the event more environmentally sustainable. “We’re already taking steps about the waste around the event. We invested in biodegradable bowls for soup, trying reusable fairy lights instead of the balloons, and asking people to bring their own mugs, etc. So it’s an ongoing work in progress to make the event more sustainable.”
This blog post was originally published in October 2019.
