2009 Fire Ecology Institute for Educators

I am not sure where to begin. My head is swimming with thoughts and frustrations. Thinking about the trip from Denver to Durango, I was simply enjoying the beauty of the mountains as I always do when we take a trip to the mountains. We always admire the lush land and how beautiful the land is covered in trees. The return trip back home was more of a concern for the land and its safety. We discussed the dense forests and how dangerous that was for the area and how nature needs to be allowed to take its course. This whole class was such a wonderful experience. The field trips were fabulous and the guest speakers were phenomenal. My favorite field trip was to Mesa Verde. I hadn’t been there since I took my fourth graders about ten years ago. John, “ZZ Top” was definitely my top guest speaker. I was impressed with his dedication to the area and that he did not get caught up in bureaucracy.

Monday: What a way to get off to a running start! My first impression of the opening day speakers were that everyone loved their job and were truly dedicated to doing the best job! I thoroughly enjoyed Ros Wu’s presentation on dendrochronology. Amanda’s tree identification proved that I don’t really know my trees as well as I should. She did a great job of clarifying identification points for me. Lu provided us with hands-on experiments that proved everything we were hearing and what an eye-opening experience.

Tuesday: All of the day’s field trips were impressive. The dedicated fire fighters were so knowledgeable and enthusiastic. I went home after meeting them and listening to their dedication and love of their job, and asked my son if he would consider a profession as a firefighter. Vallecito Lake with Craig was amazing when you think of the fire fighters putting their lives on the line to protect others and our valuable land. I realized what hard work it is to carry out such a job as cutting a fireline. Lemon Reservoir was a very enlightening experience listening to John talk about the area as if it were his. I loved learning about all of the creative ideas he came up with almost off the top of his head.

Wednesday: This class day helped to provide some time to digest the knowledge that we had been given at a very full capacity. The knowledge of others was very apparent during class discussions. Very valuable conversations went around the room. I valued this opportunity to see where everyone else in the class was in terms of understanding and background knowledge.

Thursday: The trip to Mesa Verde was a bonus. It brought back memories of the trip we used to take with our fourth graders many years ago. The area is well preserved and allows you to think about what it must have been like to live during that time. I also enjoyed socializing with the other talented teachers in the class at Lu’s farm. It was a great group of teachers and experts collectively sharing ideas.

Friday: What a perfect ending to a perfect class. Visiting Mr. Sears property and hearing the story of the mitigation that saved his home was unbelievable. Seeing with our own eyes the area and the closeness of the threatening fire took my breath away but it also proves the point that was so existent during our entire week of class. I walked away from the visit, pensive and full of understanding as to the true importance of this class. We are another avenue to getting the word out about the health of our forests. We grew up being taught about Smoky the Bear and saving trees. I guess it does show that with repetitiveness and dedication we can individually make a difference. We did save trees very well, so well that the forests became full. So now we need to reeducate and shift to the idea of mitigation and why it is important and how that can help all of us. I am so glad that I was able to take the Fire Ecology class. Living in Colorado is such a gift and with this plethora of education to share with my class, Colorado will continue to be understood and appreciated.