Fire Ecology

The Fire Ecology Kit introduces the concepts of plant and animal adaptations to fire, the role fire severity plays in plant diversity, how Native Americans traditionally used fire, ways people can protect their homes from fire, and the ways people interact with, and talk about, fire.

Activities:

• Fire Station (.pdf) – Grade 4-8. Introduce the concepts of fire ecology
• Plants and Fire (.pdf) – Grade 3-9. Identify strategies of survival in fire ecosystems through plant adaptations
• Animals and Fire (.pdf) – Grade 3-6. Introduce when animals return to a burned environment
• Humans and Fire Grades 6-8 (.pdf) – Introduce the ways humans have used fire over time.
• Humans and Fire Grades 9-12 (.pdf) – Introduce the ways humans have used fire over time.
• Life of a Ponderosa Pine (.pdf) – Grade 3-9. Shows fire ecology concepts
• Burnt Tree Cookie (.pdf) – Grade 3-6. Read a story about a fire-affected tree and examine tree cookies from a fire-scarred tree
• Fire Severity (.pdf) – Grade 6-10. Act out different fire severities and analyze the fires’ effects on the plant community
• Fire Debate (.pdf) – Grade 9-12. Engage in a debate regarding wildfires

Educational Tools:

• Open and closed Knobcone cones
• Ponderosa pine bark
• Fire-scarred tree ‘cookies’ (cross-sections)
• Directions and maps to local fire sites
• Fire Wars DVD
• Large maps and images of local forest fires
• Classroom posters

Books and Publications:

• Fire Messages Packet
• Fire Wise Packet
• “Wildfires” book by Seymour Simon
• “Forest Log” Newsletter Of the Oregon Department of Forestry
• “Managing for Wildfire and Forest Health” Report by the US Forest Service
• “Fires in Oregon’s Forests” Booklet
•  “Fire Wars” – DVD