Ecologicaly Friendly Bonfire

Sing a song of seasons! Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer, fires in the fall!
(Trad Childrens verse; Anon)

We have all enjoyed a very warm September (written in 2006), one of the warmest ever in fact and it will no doubt come as a shock to us when as we move now into October the weather starts to deteriorate, as indeed it must. As the calendar moves from September’s Autumn Equinox with its balance of equal days and nights, October it is the traditional time when, as the nights draw in, those with gardens start to gather up the leaves, prune back the bushes, clearing the vegetable patch, removing bedding plants from borders and flowers from pots and hanging baskets.

All the garden waste can then be removed to the compost heap or, if dry enough, piled onto a traditional bonfire. The British countryside is still full of the always nostalgic smell of burning leaves and wood smoke curling up into the late afternoon sky, on fine October days.

Councils now often encourage gardeners to help the environment and reduce waste by composting as much of your garden refuse as possible. Some now make useful compost bins available for local residents to purchase, often available from local Community Recycling Centre’s. For details of availability look at your local council website or phone up to see what is available. Some will even deliver them to you free of charge.

However, sometimes there’s only one solution for large amounts of garden refuse and leaves and that’s to burn them on a bonfire. Do think twice before

having a bonfire though- or at least a lot of them. Remember, they all add to the Greenhouse effect, releasing carbon dioxide into the Atmosphere. However, if you do have one there are a few tips that are worth taking note of.

• Before lighting it, try and check to see that that no small animals have crawled into it, a hedgehog, for example.
• Let materials dry out before you burn them, and put the fire out if it starts to smoke excessively.
  Whilst for many the smell of wood smoke is pleasant, others with asthmatic conditions may find them troublesome, so be considerate.
• Try and make your bonfire on a piece of metal, raised up on bricks; this way the air can get underneath, so you get a fierce flame but not too much smoke.
• Don't leave it burning when you go inside as plenty of unwanted fires have been started by bonfires that people think are almost out and the ashes then blowing in the Wind
• Think twice about having a bonfire in especially windy and dry conditions as sparks can blow into other areas locally and create fires.
• If you burn just organic material, which has a reasonable potash content you can sprinkle it on the garden afterwards to help nourish plants.
• Sifting through wood ashes can also give you charcoal that can be stored and used for BBQ’s next summer.

Enjoy the Autumn for all the right reasons and make the most of the light whilst we still have it!