Fire Education in Alaska
Alaska’s landscape depends on wildfires for habitat renewal. Every summer fire is in the news and an extensive response protocol has been developed by federal, state, and local agencies. In addition, a “Firewise” program gives landowners and communities suggestions for managing their land to minimize fire damage should a future fire occur in their area. ANROE has recognized the importance of this topic and since 2011 has offered workshops and educator resources to assist in teaching about fire ecology and management.
e-Learning Modules Available – Teach About Fire in Alaska
As part of the same 2017-2021 grant, ANROE and Project Learning Tree (PLT) 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. 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.