NPS regional fire ecologists teach fire science to Alaska educators

Alaska teachers examine the organic duff layer

Jennifer McMillan, NPS

July 2023 marked the 2nd year that the Alaska regional fire ecology program engaged with teachers from around Alaska in partnership with Project Learning Tree (PLT). Two NPS Alaska regional fire ecologists, Jennifer Barnes and Jennifer McMillan, taught a segment of an educator workshop at Denali National Park and Preserve. The annual workshop is a continuing education program offered to K-12 teachers from across the state who are incorporating fire ecology into their classroom curriculums. Educators received a PLT activity collection that invites learners to investigate wildfire and ecosystem changes; this was brought to life by two NPS fire ecologists who gladly engaged with the teachers and shared information specific to Alaska.

Workshop participants took a naturalist hike to the site of the 2002 Denali Horseshoe Fire by the park’s headquarters. Here they were guided through some of the standard field protocols the NPS fire ecology program uses to assess fire effects. They engaged in conversation with NPS fire ecologists regarding myriad topics including defining the difference between fire severity and fire intensity, how climate change may influence fire on the Alaskan landscape, and how the encroaching infestation of spruce bark beetles near Denali National Park and Preserve may alter fire activity in the region. They learned about how removal of vegetation changes the depth of the rooting zone and the growth environment for post-fire pioneering plants. They discovered how to detect wildlife active in areas impacted by fire. In short, by visiting a post-fire forest and engaging with the fire ecologists, the teachers were provided an opportunity to immerse themselves in awareness of how fire effects the landscape.

With the information shared in this fluid hands-on learning environment teachers will be able to return to their classrooms throughout the state prepared to share basic concepts of how fire influences the ecosystem in Alaska. The teachers shared their hopes that this memorable outdoors workshop will enhance their ability to share important concepts related to fire ecology with their students, all of whom are affected by fire activity as Alaska residents.

Regional Fire Ecologist Jennifer Barnes describes what can be learned from tree rings

Jennifer McMillan, NPS

The NPS fire ecology program hopes to continue this partnership with PLT in the future; inspiring more students to take keen interest in ecology and wildland fire management as they choose their future education and career paths.

View the The Nature of Fire in Alaska 2023 – Project Learning Tree Photo Collage and learn more about Project Learning Tree in Alaska which was funded by a Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) Grant awarded to Alaska Natural Resource and Outdoor Education Association (ANROE) as well as the 2023 Sustainable Forestry Initiative Education Grant awarded to Alaska Project Learning Tree.  

Fire ecologists for a day - teachers collect data at a post-fire plot.

Jennifer Barnes, NPS