The Idaho Statesman- Bill Roberts
“Lauren Lanfear and Kate Goulet knelt in the middle of a dirt road trying to coax fire from some dry weeds, and cattail duff without the help of matches. The 13-year-olds from North Junior High scraped magnesium shavings onto a cotton ball daubed with Vaseline, then created sparks. In moments, their small pile of tinder was ablaze. “Be careful, you don’t want to kill it,” Lanfear told her eighth-grade classmate. “I’m going to grab some more cattails.” “We need a lot more,” Goulet told her. The two were among 40 students from North Junior High and Timberline High School who spent two school days in the forest outside Garden Valley recently putting to work skills they’ve been studying at school, from fire-starting to knot-tying to harness-rigging as part of a physical education class. That’s right: P.E. without laps, jumping jacks or volleyball.”(more)