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The national database of state and local wildfire hazard mitigation programs
serves as a clearinghouse of information about nonfederal policies and
programs that seek to reduce the risk of loss of life and property through
the reduction of hazardous fuels on private lands. If
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Title: |
Stillwater, MN - Risk Assessments Conducted by High School Students
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Type: |
Homeowner assistance
Education
Designation of high risk areas
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Jurisdiction: |
City/town
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State: |
Minnesota
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Program Description: |
Community Service Requirement
Graduation requirements for Minnesota High School students include doing a community service project. Minnesota DNR has created a program to involve 10-12 grade high school students in wildfire hazard risk assessments as part of the school science curriculum. This provides the students with the opportunity to fulfill their community service commitment and it gives the community trained volunteers to conduct the assessments. Detailed information about the program and all Minnesota in-school wildfire prevention programs is available on the DNR web site.
The Stillwater Consolidated School District (S.D. 834) became involved in the Firewise program in the fall of 2001. Working in cooperation with the three Fire Districts that serve the area, senior students have been involved in both Level 1-GIS Assessment, and Level 2- Field Assessment, work encompassing 5 communities. During the four years of the program, students have provided over 8600 Level 1 assessments, and over 200 detailed Level 2 assessments.
In collaboration with the Minnesota Alliance for Geographic Education (MAGE), that first teacher prepared a Firewise Community Assessment Curriculum that was correlated with National and MN Science and Social Studies Academic Standards. In the summer of 2004 two teacher-training sessions were held through the Macalester College Geography Department.
These sessions taught 13 teachers in St. Paul and 10 teachers at Itasca Community College in Grand Rapids how to use the newly released curriculum. From this group, eight schools signed up in the first year. In the first term, four schools completed projects, adding over 7400 L1 and 250 L2 assessments to Stillwater�s total. Five more schools are scheduled in the second term.
Three additional teacher institutes are scheduled for the summer of 2005, featuring an updated curriculum, updated GIS software and more tips on implementing in various classroom situations. More than two-dozen school projects are expected in the 2005-2006 school year.
Level 1 - GIS Assessment
In this activity, students use DOQ aerial photos, PC's, and AtlasGDS software to analyze a community for fire-prone property. Individual houses are assessed for the presence of defensible space. Each house is tagged with a location and rated for defensibility on a scale of 1-5, where 1 is not forested, and 5 is overtopped by trees on 2 or more sides. This preliminary rating is called a Level 1 (L1), and conducted in the school classroom.
Level 2 � Field Assessment
Students participate in a field trip to a fire risk "hot spot" neighborhood identified in the L1 assessment work. They collect GPS waypoints and fill out a Forest Home Fire Risk Questionnaire (based on NFPA 299) on each home. Students were trained in how to use the questionnaire and the GPS equipment in the classroom. While in the field, they speak to homeowners and pass out wildfire risk mitigation education materials. When no one is at home, students leave a doorhanger, which notifies the resident that their home has been evaluated for wildfire risk, and gives them risk ranking information, and mitigation information. Four neighborhoods have been visited: 1 in 2001, 2 in 2002, 1 in 2003 and 2 in 2004. Students transferred the summary results into a database which was then mapped.
Community Report
Students integrate the information from the Level 1 and Level 2 assessments to create a community report. The report may be in a written, oral, or multi-media format. The report presents the methodology, results, conclusions, and recommendations. The report is presented to the Fire Chief and community stakeholders.
Contact Information
The Minnesota DNR through the Firewise Project, has prepared formal lesson plans to replicate this program in other communities and high schools. This project is funded through the National Fire Plan. Detailed information and existing lesson plans can be found on this web site.
For more information, contact:
Dave Schuller
651-772-7931
Email: [email protected]
Bill Glesener
218-755-4420
Email: [email protected]
Pegg Julson
218-276-2237
Email: [email protected]
or
Tom Eiber
651-297-3417
Email: [email protected]
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