2009 Fire Ecology Institute for Educators

I feel very fortunate to have taken the Fire Ecology Institute in Durango. I am an elementary school teacher but my educational background and interests were in wildlife biology and fisheries biology at Colorado State University. I took a forest ecology class and spent four weeks studying natural resource topics at Pingree Park, which includes some forestry. I love learning about our natural resources. I am not able to go into the depth that high school teachers are able to go into, but I hope to introduce my students to the concepts and to create an awareness, interest, curiosity, and a desire to better our natural resources. Many elementary school teachers and administers tend to focus on reading, writing, and math because these subjects are their areas of expertise and concern with state testing. I like to incorporate and integrate science into as many parts of the day as I can. I would also like to have an after school science club, which would give me an even better opportunity to incorporate everything I learned. Kids love science and are sponges. I became interested in nature because of the exposure my parents gave me as a little kid so I would like to expose kids to nature hoping that they will become interested.
I definitely realized how people have impacted the current health of the forests with fire suppression over the last one hundred years. Our forests are over-crowded. We have been going through a long drought, too. As a result, we are having insect problems.
I learned about the importance of defensible space for people that live in the wild land urban interface. There are many things that landowners and homeowners can do to protect their property. The U.S. Forest Service and other organizations help provide education to the public on how to help prevent damage with forest fires. It seems very clear to me to follow their advice, and it makes me wonder why more people don’t follow their suggestions. I think many people think that it won’t happen to them.
I think we all gained an appreciation for what fire fighters go through. They have a very physically and mentally demanding job and deserve the utmost respect appreciation.
I really appreciated the opportunity I had in taking this class. What a great deal and at a great cost. The grant to help with this class is a tremendous help to everyone that took the class. I would not have had the money to pay for a week away from home, food, the cost of the class, college credit, and all of the wonderful resources that I can use in the classroom. The best part is that it left me feeling very inspired in my own life and in my classroom. Personally, I have more background information about the health of our forests and about fire ecology. I can use the background information and all of the activities we did during the week in my classroom. Many kids learn better my seeing and doing activities and I now have a multitude of resources that I can use in my classroom. Thank you so much for this wonderful opportunity! I am truly grateful!