Reflection from JB

As I empty the contents of the 4½ lb black cotton Smokey Bear tote bag onto my desk it becomes apparent a lot of teaching and learning occurred during the weeklong fire ecology class.  Wow, did I get all this material legally?  It seems like a lot of “stuff”.  Is this all for me?  There are DVD’s, notebooks, lesson plans, models for activities, PLT activity books, lecture notes from various presenters along with ideas for lesson plans, information from state and federal agencies, materials regarding wildfire behavior and the role of wildfire in ecosystems. Of course there was all the sharing of ideas and experiences from firefighters, scientists, land owners, public officials, professionals, and experienced educators. Almost overwhelming.  In fact it would have been too much had it not been for the outstanding food, professional camaraderie, and lodging.

After looking over the artifacts on my desk for several hours, reading through notes on my tablet taken during the week, and 3 cups of coffee in my favorite orange ceramic mug, I have come to the conclusion that this class has taught me why to teach about fire and given me the tools to do so. 

Reflecting on the content of the class I can say that I learned about

the fire triangle and factors that influence fire behavior such as topography, fuel type and relative humidity

How fire plays a key role in the continuing health of our forests.  Wildfire is necessary for maintaining healthy ecosystems by returning nutrients to the soil, opening the canopy, decreasing competition, and providing natural open areas for wildlife.

The differences between the IPS, spruce and pine beetles, and how they can impact forests that have been protected from fires.

Dendrochronology

How to reduce fire risk to homes where the eves meet the leaves

Impacts to soil including how to test for hydrophobic soil conditions

Roles of different governmental agencies and how they cooperate with each other

Fire history in the western US

Post-fire flood mitigation techniques from Theresa Springer

Many GREAT lesson plans including:

Every tree for itself (last tree standing)

Designer tree

Forest to faucet

My goal is to develop lesson plans to teach wildfire as a series of integrated hands-on standards based lessons for a unit within an environmental science class.  Disciplines such as biology, geography, geology, history, and social sciences will be incorporated into this new unit. The fire ecology institute has given me great educational tools to move forward. Thanks

Reflection from MA

REFLECTION ON FIRE ECOLOGY INSTITUTE

Why take a class on fire ecology? I certainly didn’t need the credits and I am teaching Language Arts and Social studies next year. At this point in my career or life for that matter, it is because I wanted to explore new knowledge, to experience a different content area, perhaps, most of all for personal reasons.

 I live in a WUI, a funny name that I had not heard before, a homeowner who loves the lifestyle of being nestled in the foothills among the stately Ponderosa pine forest. I also live in a Firewise Community. Sure, I know that Keith Worley lives down the street and holds yearly meetings with homeowners about mitigation. Sure, we mitigate our property by spending untold hours raking and hauling underbrush off the property, cutting the scrub oak that propagates with no encouragement, mowing the natural grasses, and doing all we can to create a defensible space. But truth be told, we do all that because we feel we are the caretakers, the stewards of our land. I really hadn’t thought of the larger picture.

This class made me focus on fire!  Last summer when the Waldo Canyon fire blew up smoke drifted north into our community for days, friends were evacuated and we too got the sheriff’s call reminding us to be ready for summer wildfires. Evacuation route signs were posted in our neighborhood and along the one and only highway in our area. Scary stuff, but still I had no clear picture of this fascinating phenomenon called fire.

Throughout the week we concentrated on ALL aspects of fire. I left with a clearer picture of the ways communities like mine need to be even better stewards, and perhaps educators, to each other and those who live in the suburbs and cities. On the community level, I was reminded of the importance of landscaping with the proper plants, using more fire resistant building materials, and creating disaster plans with family and neighbors. Upon seeing the sites firsthand you cannot argue with the devastating effects of massive wildfires such as Waldo or Haymen!

The week in class focused on the importance of healthy forests. I grew up in the era of Bambi and Smoky the Bear, of Edward Abbey and treehuggers. Treehuggers do not cut trees! Amazing how knowledge changes one’s perspective. I now see fire as both destructive and part of the renewal process of nature. Pictures tell a thousand words and those showing our forests at the turn of the last century compared to this century certainly show the need to revisit current laws on thinning, creating forest industries focused on healthy forests over economics, and preserving our watersheds. Only through education can environments be created to find balanced ways to live responsibly with respect for the beautiful forests in Colorado and those who live in and visit them.

I retire from my formal job of teaching next year but I am hearing the whisper of the trees to be a new voice in the ever evolving world of fire ecology.

          

Reflection from AH

What materials will you use/read/share?

The most useful materials we received during the FEI Workshop were the physical materials for experiments and supplemental information.  The materials, outside of specific lesson plans, provide the best scenario for integrating subject matter into a diverse range of content areas.  It allows instructors to evaluate and integrate subject matter into the curriculum as able.

What did you think/feel about the field trips and speakers?

The field trips and speakers were the most valuable aspect of the FEI workshop.  Speaking to professionals in the field presented a new dimension to the understanding of Fire Ecology.  Field trips and speakers add a personal dimension to the subject.

Did this event contribute to your increasing awareness of the role of fire in our ecosystems and communities? 

The FEI workshop presented a unique view of the connection between ecosystems and communities.  The workshop increased awareness but also expanded my understanding of the connection.

Did you learn anything from this class that will impact your life, your classroom, your community involvement in any way? 

The class will impact my classroom by expanding their understanding of fire ecology and allowing them to apply this knowledge to becoming more active members in their community.  The topic provides numerous opportunities for students to become active members in their communities.  

Reflection by CL

I learned of the 2013 Fire Ecology class for educators through my husband who is a volunteer fireman and educator.  He was attending a fire mitigation class when he heard Shawna Crocker mention this class.  At first I was apprehensive about taking the class because I have never been too interested in this topic, and wasn’t too sure that it would apply to Social Studies.  I still decided to sign up and see what it was all about.  I am glad I did!

Immediately I learned that fire has always been a part of our history.  I also learned how it affects societies as a whole.  So my assumption that it wouldn’t apply to History/Social studies was wrong.  I realized that Fire Ecology relates all core subjects together, and blurs the lines between subjects.

The class never had a dull moment.  The entire week was packed with presenters and activities.  I honestly felt that the class could have been a couple of days longer than scheduled.  There is too much to learn and there is not enough time to learn it all. I am not a person who likes to just sit, so this was a great class for me to take.  While we did have to sit a lot, we were also able to leave the classroom and take field trips.  My favorite day was the first field trip.  We went to the Upper South Platte Water Shed office.  Theresa Springer spoke to us about the impact fires have on the watersheds.  This had never crossed my mind before.  I never took the time to think beyond the fire and it getting put out.  She spoke to us about the effect the Hayman Fire had on the watershed.  She then told us more about the recent Waldo fire and the effect it will have on the watershed and the surrounding communities. We left from there and headed to visit some homes in Cascade.  The homes were surrounded by a long tall wall of sand bags.  These were placed there to help buy the residents some  time to hopefully make it out safely.  We were also told how the town of Manitou Springs could be destroyed by flash floods. Since the class, I have seen flash flood warning for that area at least twice.  During one of the warnings, they received enough rain to cause major havoc and it closed down highway 24.  I watched a video of a Gazette videographer getting washed away in the mud river which covered highway 24.  After this presentation, I questioned whether it is better for a person’s home to burn or be saved.  It seems that if a home is saved, it is now involved in a whole new set of problems; i.e. mud slides and flooding.  These new problems can last for years.  I never knew of the problems present after a fire.

From Cascade, we drove to Blodgett.  Blodgett is an area that was involved in the Waldo Canyon fire.  We met a geologist who took us for a hike into the burn area.  There we learned about hydrophobic soil and how it occurs.  We tested soil to see whether it was hydrophobic.  As suspected, in places the soil was hydrophobic. Since the soil doesn’t accept water easily, it is no wonder that burn areas experience flash flooding.  Prior to this class, I thought that if there was flooding it was due to the lack of vegetation.

I also enjoyed the presenters.  Each one had something new to teach us.  My favorite one was Amy from Colorado Springs Fire Department.  She is in charge of the Mitigation program.  I was impressed with her slide show and knowledge.  She doesn’t force people to strict mitigation, but offers suggestions. The pictures of the homes that had mitigated prior to the Waldo Canyon fire definitely made an impression on me.  Mitigation is one of the keys to reducing the risk of losing a home in a fire.

I am glad I attended this class.  I learned a lot more than I will ever be able to teach.  I am hoping to raise my students awareness of the importance of fire and living with fire. I recommend all educators to take this class.  You won’t be sorry!

Reflection by DP

My journey to the Fire Institute this summer started with my passion for teaching up-to-date and relevant science to my 6^th graders.  Last summer, our city was surprised and devastated by the Waldo Canyon Fire.  My students had a connection to the natural world that was emotional and immediate.  I incorporated their understanding of what happened during the summer as we discussed how to gather data, analyze data, and share our findings from our research.  The students shared their feelings through word portraits and eventually by writing letters to pen pals in another state.  At the end of our mini-unit on the Waldo Canyon Fire, the students asked for more.  I asked myself how I could give them more and give myself more understanding of the wildfires that have been annually affecting our Colorado skies. 

In the past, I have studied the Haymen Fire from 2002 with mini workshops put on by Project Learning Tree.  I have seen how our environment recovers from wildfires, and learned many things to share with my students.  But the Fire Institute at the Nature Place was a totally different experience.  This adventure gave me the opportunity to meet and hear from people who are regularly fighting fires, mitigating fire-prone areas, and preventing flooding from killing those already saved from the fires.  I had no idea all the different organizations that have to work together to save and protect we humans who have changed the natural landscape of our beautiful state.  We spent many years putting out the fires, and now we are learning what that did to the natural course of events in Colorado’s forests. 

Two weeks prior to the Fire Institute, another fire hit the city of Colorado Springs.  But this time, instead of being across town from the flames, my students and I were face to face with them.  My school district was evacuated.  Friends, family, and loved ones kept in constant contact as we watched and waited to see whether our own properties would survive.  My former students asked me questions via emails and I strove to answer them as well as I could.  But as the days progressed, I realized how little all of us really know about what is going on in our wildland areas.  Black Forest lost a lot.  The community is holding itself together and working towards a better future.  Everyone is learning as we live.  While I was fortunate enough to escape the flames of the fire itself, it spoke to me in a more visceral way.  I needed to know what was going on.  I had to understand why these fires were so destructive and hard to control.  And I wanted to be able to explain these things to my students, my friends, my family, and most importantly, to myself. 

The Fire Institute did more than meet my expectations.  It did more than answer my questions.  It provided me with resources to help build a more knowledgeable community of learners in my students.  It introduced me to new areas of Fire Ecology.  I traveled through and studied many fires from the past 20 years in the Southern Colorado region.  I learned why flash floods become a problem after fires, and learned new ways to teach this to my students.  I was shown the actual mitigation efforts put in place daily by CUSP, the State and National Forest Services, and the many Fire Departments that must work together.  We looked at a 3D aerial view of the canyons that lead into the Colorado Springs area and discussed what the worst flooding could do after hitting the Waldo Canyon burn scar areas.

Less than 2 days after finishing the Fire Institute, a brief rain storm turned into flooding and mudslides throughout the Manitou Springs and western Colorado Springs areas.  Highway 24 was closed right where our presenters had discussed the possible floods.  The canyons directed the flow of the water and debris just as predicted.  And as I watched the events unfold on the news, I realized that I understood exactly what was happening.  Not only that, I knew why it was happening.  I could see how the mitigation efforts helped in some places, and how nature really can roll right over us.  The goal of flood mitigation is to save lives.  Well, no one died that day.  Less than two weeks later another storm hit.   Highway 24 was closed again, flooding occurred in some similar areas.  Still, there were no deaths.  While everyone remarked how devastating these floods have been, I thanked God that we have the ability to get people out safe.  We have the ability to forecast floods in these areas.  We have the ability to work together and give people enough time to get out safe.  This “AHA” moment for me was more powerful than I can express on a piece of paper.  I hope to express my gratitude for the knowledge I gained at the Fire Institute by sharing my newfound knowledge with countless students to come. 

Thank you to everyone involved in helping me truly understand more of what is happening around me.  I definitely don’t understand it all.  I have many resources to help me continue my education and understanding.  Better than that, I know who to call when I just need an answer to a student’s difficult question.  I know that that this is one of the best educational experiences I have received in my life, I know I want to attend next year, and I know I will be bringing as many people with me as I can!  

Reflection by DW

In short, the Fire Ecology Institute was eye-opening.  I had heard about various wildfires and damage from wildfires over the years, but really had little first-hand knowledge about wildfire issues.  As I listened to the various speakers—speakers from diverse backgrounds and filling diverse rolls in the community—I was struck by how unified the story they told was.  Based upon the sampling represented by these speakers, there was clear consensus in the fire community about the impacts of fire suppression over the last century and what needs to be done to return our forests to a more natural, sustainable state.

With such a clear consensus in the fire community, I am surprised how little this message has made it into the mainstream media, our legislatures, and everyday conversation.  The message is ready for the public, but the public has had little exposure to it yet—at least from my perspective.  This impression has strengthened my desire to take the message into my classroom and make sure my students have at least a basic understanding about the unhealthy state of our forests.  One of the themes we discuss all year in my earth science classes is the idea that human activity has unintended consequences; because the natural world is composed of interconnected systems, society’s attempts to “control” nature—however well-intentioned—can backfire in unexpected ways.  The unhealthy state of the forests today is a perfect example of this, and it is one I think students need to hear about.

As for the Institute itself:  I was very pleased with the breadth and depth of material that was presented, and was especially pleased with the variety and quality of the speakers we heard over the course of the week.  Getting to hear from highly qualified people with diverse roles—fire fighting on the ground, forest and wildlife management, public education, research, etc.—was invaluable.  The field trips were excellent—they made the classroom concepts tangible and added necessary “ground truth” to what was being discussed.  I also was impressed with the abundance of resources I can take back to my classroom.  My only difficulty will be figuring out which of the many good activities and resources I’ll be able to fit in the very limited amount of class time we have each semester.

Being an earth science teacher, I plan to focus on the effects of wildfire on water and erosion issues, and the impact these things have on downstream communities.  My lesson plan reflects this focus.

Thank you for all your hard work planning and presenting the Fire Ecology Institute.  I am very pleased to have been part of it.

Reflection by NS

I had a three-fold purpose as I entered the week of study; 1) increase my content knowledge of forest attributes, wild land fires, fire mitigation, and the other topics to be presented; 2) gain a better understanding of wildfire prevention, affects and firefighting strategies as my husband is a firefighter and has been involved with the Waldo Canyon and Black Forest fires; 3) return from the institute with lessons and information to share with my students to increase their understanding, respect for and future relationship with the forest.

Reading the story about the events surrounding the fire on Storm King Mountain set a tone of the serious need for teamwork and respect of knowledge in an area of expertise where wild land fires are concerned. Having the Black Forest Fire devastate my community was surreal and ominous all at the same time, particularly as it took place days before this week of study.

Goal 1 was met as all the guest speakers, films, activities, tours and handouts served to increase my knowledge. I learned about the human ignorance of forest behavior and the importance fire plays in a healthy forest ecosystem over the decades, as well as the difficult task ahead to educate the public of the important need for mitigation, forest behavior education and the human component that effects forests, fires, mitigation and societal acceptance and responsibility towards all of the previously mentioned topics.

Goals 2 & 3 were met, as my foundational fire ecology knowledge was very limited prior to this class. Program Coordinator, Amy Sylvester of CSFD, shared a very convincing presentation in connection to the work that has been done (and is on-going) with the Colorado Springs community in regards to wild land fire prevention and home mitigation. Theresa Springer of the CUSP (Coalition for the Upper South Platte) spoke passionately of the work being done and the extreme need to educate the public of the aftermath of a fire. The extensive tours in the Waldo Canyon, Hayman and Blodgett Peak area were quite revealing. Hands-on activities with soil in a burn area with Eric Billmeyer from UCCS were surprising and peaked my interest in hydrophobic soil attributes. Soft-spoken, and heartfelt was the forest walk with The Nature Place Director, Rob Jolly. His dedication to community and education came through as he shared in earnest the work completed and the work in progress to keep the guests, campers and properties of The Nature Place safe and available for years to come. A believer in the power of inquiry-based learning, I appreciated his approach as he led us on a tour of the forests and the mitigation efforts in place and the impact of those efforts. The presentation by Dr. Peter Brown, Director of the Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research, made an equally strong impact on my thinking of this entire weeks study. The strategies (coring, tree ring analysis, graphic analysis of tree-ring dating, droughts, fires, and strong growth years) used to explore forest history longitudinally, as well as historically, (‘The cross dating analysis supports replication of chronologies, time, severity, and changes of elevation: Fire is inevitable it is not a question of IF, but when’)

illustrated occurrences over time that man has most likely contributed to unknowingly and continues to try to control that which Mother Nature will dictate in the end. While I may not be able to transfer the extent of information I was exposed to during the week of the institute, it is my goal to integrate as much as I can into the content storylines in my classroom be it science, engineering, social studies or math. I look forward to inviting Amy Sylvester to my school community to speak and raise awareness, as well as my husband to share his experiences. I am not sure at this time as to the level of involvement my students can engage with CUSP, but I will endeavor to raise their awareness and hopefully their involvement in the prevention of forest fires, appreciation for forest ecosystems and global forest status.