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