Fostering Forests
Upon the success of the education around the FOREST⇌FIRE exhibit and the relevancy of the topic of catastrophic wildfires, as well as the TTUSD administration & teacher’s request to expand, SWEP has been meeting and discussing the possibility of creating this new, important and relevant project.
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What is this program? SWEP has been meeting with partners to design and implement age-appropriate lessons and service-learning (stewardship) experiences that align with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Our goal is to address wildfire prevention, mitigation, and preparedness, habitat restoration, forest management and cleanup, forestry and other related career pathways, water quality and watershed studies related to forest fires, native regenerative forest practices, as well as native species, environmental studies, fire ecology and forest health with K-12 students in the district.
How does this program work? This program is a 2-day experience. The first day involves an in-class pre-lesson where students learn the about the history of our forests, get introduced to the SWEP team and partnering organizations, and prepare for the stewardship day. The second day is the service-learning day, where students arrive at the location and break into small groups to work with adult facilitators to engage in hands-on projects that focus on the topics listed above.
Who can participate in this program? The program creation will begin with 1-2 grades per level in elementary, middle and high school, continuously building upon the lessons each year until a curriculum has been developed for all K-12 grade levels.
Where is this program offered? All schools within the Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District.
For more information contact SWEP's Project Director, Ashley Phillips, at ashley@4swep.org.