Alaska Urban Interface Fire Education Program

During 2011-2016 ANROE offered a series of “Fire in a Changing Climate” 1-credit workshops across the state funded by USDA and Alaska Department of Forestry’s Western Wildfire Urban Interface Grant Program.

In 2017 ANROE was awarded another Western Wildfire Urban Interface Grant to implement what we consider “the next step” in an effort to assist educators in the following communities with increased risk of wildfire and to encourage mitigation: Anchorage, Palmer/Wasilla, Glennallen, Delta Junction, Tok, Fairbanks, Kenai/Soldotna, Galena, Bethel and Dillingham. If you are interested in a workshop in your community, contact anroeak@gmail.com

As of spring of 2018, educator Mary Timm, has begun offering Wildfire and You in a Changing Climate professional development classes to some of the communities listed above. Mary, owner of Educational Horizons, Tok, AK, has experience working as a classroom teacher, for the U.S. Forest Service, and over 20 years with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as an Education Specialist. She is the recipient of the US Fish & Wildlife Service’s national “Educator of the Year” award. Mary has instructed numerous teacher professional development courses across Alaska, many in fire education.

Online Modules Available – Teach About Fire in Alaska

ANROE and Project Learning Tree (PLT) have partnered to bring to Alaskan educators five interactive learning modules – “Forest and Tundra Ecology,” “Fire’s Effects on the Ecosystem,” “Fire Management,” “Climate Change Implications for Fire in Alaska,” and “Alaska Firewise.” These modules were developed for educators and provide background content to prepare them to develop units for their students. They also were designed to be used by ANROE fire workshops to be given in a number of Alaskan communities in the upcoming 2 years. To find out more about these workshops as they are scheduled, visit https://anroe.net/programs-workshops/upcoming-workshops/ periodically or email anroeak@gmail.com.

To access the fire modules visit plt.org and set up an account. Go to https://shop.plt.org/ and click on the K-8 curriculum. Purchase the online course for $40 (not just buy the curriculum) and you will be able to access the online PLT K-8 course as well as the fire modules. These modules were funded by a Wildfire Urban Interface grant, the Alaska Division of Forestry, Department of Natural Resources pursuant to USDA Forest Service Award No. 2017-DG-11100106-810.

As this project develops, we will bring you the news and how you can connect with these efforts. If you have questions, please contact anroeak@gmail.com