Burning Issues CD-ROM teaches fire ecology

Project Learning Tree (PLT), the award-winning environmental education program, helps students gain awareness and knowledge of their environment, their place within it, as well as their responsibility for it.

Now Project Learning Tree is offering workshops to help teachers teach about fire ecology and fire management. The curriculum centers around Burning Issues, an interactive CD-ROM developed as a joint project of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Florida State University.

Most of California is adapted to burn and many ecosystems actually require periodic fires to thrive. But fire ecology is not an easy topic—the issues are complex and there are many competing interests and concerns.

Burning Issues was developed to introduce young people to fire ecology and its many related issues. The game is fun and challenging, taking advantage of students¹ natural fascination with fire to teach about the important role of fire in natural ecosystems and about fire management practices used to maintain safe and sustainable environments.

Many extremely complex issues are covered, including the role of fire in ecosystems, prescribed burns, relationships between fire and invasive weeds, wildlife considerations, and wildland fire management. Students learn that there is no one right answer to these issues but that background knowledge, critical thinking, and problem solving are required in all situations.

The Burning Issues adventure begins with a trip to the National Interagency Fire Center where students choose one of four EcoVentures in various parts of the country. Each EcoVenture covers a different aspect of fire ecology and gives students an understanding of a distinct ecosystem.

The CD-ROM contains a multimedia mix of video, slides, interactive activities, student field notebook, and other features that create an exciting (and educational) game that culminates in an actual fire simulation used for training fire managers.

Project Learning Tree has a grant to train teachers to use the Burning Issues curriculum in their classes. Several workshops will be presented throughout California over the next months. Participants will receive a copy of the Burning Issues CD-ROM and a variety of Project Learning Tree and other educational materials for various grade levels.

For more information or a workshop schedule, contact Kay Antunez at CDF, (916) 653-7958 or kantunez@fire.ca.gov.