Agencies,educators, communities and wildfire: partnerships to enhance environmental education for youth |
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| Authors: | Martha C Monroe Heidi L Ballard Annie Oxarart Victoria E Sturtevant Pamela J Jakes Emily R Evans |
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| Institution: | 1. School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA;2. School of Education, University of California, Davis, CA, USA;3. Department of Sociology, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR, USA;4. USDA Forest Service, St Paul, MN, USA |
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| Abstract: | We studied seven programs that engage youth from 10 to 18 years old in wildfire risk reduction in their communities in the United States through in-depth interviews to examine the nature and role of community-school partnerships in resource-focused environmental education. While the programs use a variety of strategies, from Scout badge to summer school, they exhibit several common dimensions: they all engage youth in community projects; they all arise from partnerships between resource agencies, community organizations, and educators; they all began when people familiar with both wildfire and youth education saw an opportunity to improve the community and educate youth through action; and all partners are able to contribute to the common program yet retain their individual identity as they meet their own mission-based goals. We use themes and quotes to illustrate these common dimensions for establishing community-school partnerships that could build action competence through environment-based education projects. |
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| Keywords: | community agency wildfire educators partnership |
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