Abstract:

Forest fires represent a severe threat to Mediterranean ecosystems and are considered one of the major environmental and socioeconomic problems of the region. A main solution is based into promote citizen participation creating fire resilient landscapes to coexist with wildfires.

Our proposal is designed to transfer transferring scientific knowledge-technical and civic values to the youth population through innovative educational approaches related to forest fire management to reduce the negative impacts of wildfires. To reach it, citizen awareness and participation is the focus a Service Learning project 'PLANTINGFIRE (PLANTANDOFUEGO): educating to live with fire.

The project is based on the application of service-learning (S-L), an educational methodology that combines learning and community service. To work with values, we conceived real life situations to help student to apply the acquired knowledge with a social commitment, connecting learning through practical application (field work) and service to society (volunteering). Two case studies are described implementing prescribed burning with vocational training students for biodiversity management and fire prevention and another for restoration of burned areas with high school students.

The project is part of a compendium of S-L initiatives, coordinated in a Iberian Working Group focused on education on fire ecology. The local results integrated a multidisciplinary approach, creating synergies, involving different social agents such as researchers, students (from different disciplines), schools, multidisciplinary professionals, NGOs, and the public administration. The interdisciplinary perspective combines training, research transfer and citizen involvement in Spain and Portugal.

Keywords:

Service learning, fire ecology, wildfires, citizen participation.