FIRE Up for Summer!
FIRE Up (Field Inquiry Research Experience) is a three-week summer course for high school students designed to help them learn about wildfire behavior, its effect on ecosystems, and minimizing rural communities’ susceptibility to fire. To prepare for field research, students are taught how to gather quality data and master the use of tools and techniques. Instruction is provided in plant identification, the use of technology such as Global Positioning Systems, and various software for recording data. Then, students travel to designated field locations where they conduct hands-on research and data collection to create a comprehensive report, which is then used by public land agencies in land management practices.
Students can earn college credits for this course. Click here to learn more about this program or contact the Idaho State Office BLM at 373-4000.
FIRE UP Students study the Boise Foothills |
BLM Participates in Sixth Annual Field Inquiry Research Education Program
Program teaches students about fire ecology and field research, educates homeowners on urban interface
Idaho State Office - During June 2009, BLM teamed up with the City of Boise, State Farm Insurance and Northwest Nazarene University to promote the 2009 F.I.R.E Up for Summer class. This year, the students studied the Boise Foothills. The students surveyed the Boise Heights neighborhood and the hills nearby to educate home owners about protecting their homes during a wildfire. Boise Fire Chief Dennis Doan says the research and the public education presented by F.I.R.E. Up will be critical to fire prevention planning for the city’s wildland-urban interface.
“Many Boise neighborhoods face a unique and serious threat from wildfire,” said Chief Doan. “Finding out just where the risk is highest, then educating those homeowners on what they can do to help us protect them is going to be very valuable.”
Northwest Nazarene University partnered with the program to allow the students to earn college credits while collecting data and completing research projects about wildfire. Research projects help students learn about wildland fire behavior, its effect on natural ecosystems, and what can be done to minimize rural communities’ susceptibility to wildfire.
State Farm Insurance became a partner in F.I.R.E. Up in 2008, because the program supports fire safety, youth, and the importance of education.
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