Ever wandered through forests and marvelled at those tipi style log dens some clever family has built? We have too, so we called upon timber bivouac builder Levi Feldt for an expert guide to forest den building. It’s a great activity to entertain children and adults alike, so impress your youngsters, help develop their problem solving skills, and have lots of fun by following Levi’s simple steps to a log tipi dream.
Step 1: Find the perfect centre piece
Find a tall tree on a flat piece of land for your central pole, ideally with a strong horizontal branch that could make for a good roof peak. The ideal branch would be about 1.5 metres up.
Step 2: Source your walls
Send your team off to source ten slim logs at least 2 metres long to make your walls, 10-15 cms in diameter is great.
Step 3: Get building
Lean your wall logs against your support branch where it joins the tree, using that as your centre piece and remembering to evenly space your logs. Hopefully you’ll have at least 1.5 metres of space inside your den.
Place your wall logs with the trunks upwards and branches downwards. This ensures optimum water run off and keeps you dry and happy inside!
Step 4: Fill in the gaps
Your structure should be starting to resemble a tipi, and you’ll all be feeling very proud and accomplished, but don’t rest on your laurels just yet. Fill in the gaps between your logs with smaller logs and leafy branches for extra cosiness.
Step 5: Create ambience
Once a grown up has checked the sturdiness and general safety of your creation, it’s time to decorate the inside of your den with solar fairy lights and blankets.
Step 6: Enjoy your efforts
Your den is now complete so gather your team inside and enjoy a well deserved picnic!
Reasons to love forest den building:
- Develops team building skills
- Helps children engage with nature
- A sustainable activity
- Free fun!
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