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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaThe Tarantula can be seen crossing fields and trails as the evening sun sets over Cheeseboro Canyon.
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Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
National Park Labs:
Studies of Wildland Fire Ecology

Students use hands on science to gain an better understanding of fire's effects on the resources in the mountains.The Wildland Fire Ecology program is a high school curriculum-based program that allows students to observe and measure affects of wildfire in the chaparral community of the Santa Monica Mountains.

The program requires teachers to attend a training workshop. Afterwards their classes are provided equipment and training needed to conduct air, land, and water experiments at various park sites. These areas range from sites not burned in more than 50 years to sites recently burned.

Students will learn process skills used by resource management personnel. Creativity and problem solving abilities will be emphasized. They will also discover the importance of fire and its impact on natural
resources and their lives.

Two in-field visits are scheduled per class throughout the school year. Each lasts approximately 2.5 hours.

 

The Teachers manual contains:

Guidelines: lesson description, vocabulary, materials, and protocols.
Handouts: includes background information for lessons. Worksheet for that lesson.
Worksheets: classroom and fieldtrip

Click here to download the Wildland Fire Ecology Teachers' Manual now (PDF-2M).
The need for plants used in restoration projects loomed large for many years, but volunteers made it happen.  

Did You Know?
A core group of dedicated National Park volunteers, often laboring in the hot sun, built a native plant nursery from the ground up in 2002. Native plants, from the common Ceanothus to the endangered Lyons pygmy daisy germinated in this volunteer-run nursery will help restore disturbed habitat.

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Last Updated: July 22, 2007 at 20:09 EST