Solstice Bonfire - New Years Bonfire - Why We Do It

Most people never go into the woods in winter. But we wanted to engage our Somme neighbors with something pro-forest. All winter, every weekend, we stewards cut brush to restore health to the woodland. Cutting brush means “the return of the light” to the oak woodland understory - just as the holiday season means in part the beginning of longer days. 

 

This event started small ... and gradually got bigger and bigger.

This history began with a couple of years of a few dozen people showing up. Then the newly organized Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves (with a strong representation of community leaders from the schools, churches, and recognized citizen activists of many kinds) spread the word and made an advertising banner, and more and more curious people started to attend.

Our third annual solstice fire – in 2001 – followed the horror of 9/11. We reached out and found allies of nature representing the three faiths that were most impacted by the ugly terror. That year our bonfire, as always, was dedicated to peace and harmony. But this time it was lit from three sides by a Christian priest, a Jewish cantor, and a Muslim scholar from the Northbrook mosque. Well known and respected locally, Father Jay Risk of St. Giles set a generous tone. Honor for creation as seen by all three faiths was compellingly and simply expressed, and the related ethics of the humane volunteers who worked all year to protect the woods and the planet seemed embodied and illuminated by the profound words.  A good ceremony and celebration gives positive energy while making us a bit wiser.

The event celebrates nature, but it's also about people - we the people who honor nature.

For many years the welcoming speeches by varied volunteers have tried to engage people afresh each year with the spirit of the season and Somme Woods ecosystem. We’d report: Endangered plant numbers have been rising. Rare birds have returned to nest. Most people don’t pay attention to such questions for most of the year. Being reminded of them in a season of good will (while escaping the mall and various responsibilities) seemed right. But the crowds got too big for people to hear a speech. These days we rely on handing out a written introduction and explanation with links to more info on blogs, websites, and Facebook. 

To start this event we hike through the woods in procession, following the stirring notes of the bagpipes - as seen in this video from 2017: 

But the event got too big for the procession. It took too long for people to straggle in. So these days we encourage people to head right into the bonfire pile, with only some people waiting for the procession. 

When we're all there and the music gives way to nature's quiet, we're ready to be awed anew by the power of the flames. This video focuses on both the fire and the community:

Once the blaze is dying down, the home baked refreshments and the antics of the kids take over.

Here’s a sample press release. Notice how the drafters tried to include both the human and the ecological.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YEARS BONFIRE AT SOMME WOODS

An offbeat and sweet feature of the holiday season in Northbrook is the towering bonfire of brush that marks the winter solstice in Somme Woods. 

It’s a festival of renewal, since our shortening days start getting longer this time of year. The event is sponsored by the Friends of Northbrook Forest Preserves, Somme Woods Community, and the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. The event is appropriate for all ages, but dress warmly for the walk through the woods. (Then expect to start unzipping layers, as the heat of the fire builds.)

The return of the light has long been celebrated over huge areas of the Earth. Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and many other traditions have included such “festivals of lights” and rejuvenation. The Zuni or Hopi of the American southwest made “prayer sticks” at this time to bless their community, homes, animals and plants. At the Somme bonfire, participants are invited to choose a natural stick from the forest floor, invest it with the thoughts of some important event from the past year or the next, and toss it into the bonfire for a sort of consecration.

Is the bonfire symbolic? “Heck, yes,” says Linda Masters, one of the forest preserve stewards. “It’s a big pile of destructive woody weeds, and therefore symbolizes evil, greed, injustice, thuggery and death. The generous volunteers who cut all this brush did so to restore beauty and health to the natural habitats of a noble woods.” Participants are invited to appreciate the beauty of the huge ancient trees and listen for the calls of winter birds.

The Forest Preserve volunteer coordinator Bill Koenig added, “This event thanks the generous people who’ve done so much to help, and it invites everyone to experience the woods in winter, in a friendly and sociable way.”

The event is free and will include spiced cider, hot chocolate, and tasty treats. Everyone welcome. The annual "Solstice" Bonfire is on New Years day at 2:00PM in Somme Woods Forest Preserve on Dundee Road in Northbrook.

 

Before the event, people gather around a falcon and falconer to ask questions. Why is predation good for the ecosystem? 

How big is too big?

In 2015 – four hundred neighbors showed up for the 17^th annual. It is now part of the local culture. Some new people still ask why we cut brush and invasive trees, and what is the Somme Woods restoration all about. There are great discussions from many different perspectives. Cutting and burning for biodiversity conservation require people to rethink much of what they know and feel about nature. It’s complicated, and even good, as clear answers don’t register with full clarity for most people on the first hearing. On the other hand, for these people, biodiversity conservation in the Somme preserves is now increasingly a part of the culture of the Village of Northbrook.

People filled Facebook with comments like “This is the best – perfect for the holidays” and “One of my favorite events of the year.”

Young people come, old people, families. Kids who discover varied "woods fun" every year. They climb on fallen trees – break ice on the shallow ponds – throw wood on the fire. 

Kids line up to goof off on a strange tree. They master the ascent.
They perform and cheer each other on. Parents watch, worried and amused. 

Since the public owns this land, it seems crucial that we the public love it and have a feeling for the care of it. Aldo Leopold said, “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community.” We stewards, who also like kids and peace and the drama of the bonfire – believe this event fosters the integrity, stability, and beauty of our own human community as well.

As the crowd got too big for the site, we cut way back on advertising. The entire parking lot was filling up, and street parking was distant, inconvenient, and dangerous (due to having to then walk across one or two busy 4-lane roads). The police helped. 

These days, it's smaller. Some recommended that we stage it at a place with a bigger parking lot. But the Somme preserves are where we work and where we love to welcome neighbors and fellow stewards. And love to have this experience.

So, these days, it's a sweet little event that mostly organizes itself, on New Year's Day, at 2 PM. 

ANOTHER VIEW OF THIS EVENT is at the blog:
http://vestalgrove.blogspot.com/2015/12/why-we-celebrate-solstice.html

PHOTO CREDITS: Many thanks to Carol Freeman