Salient lessons learned regarding how to build the next generation of wildfire practitioners. Credit: Forest Stewards Guild
Editors note:
The Forest Stewards Youth Fire and Fuels Crew (FSYC) is a youth development program designed to provide professional development opportunities for youth interested in natural resources while effectively reducing fuel loading and reducing the risk of catastrophic fire in forests. This past Fall the youth crews worked in the Greater Santa Fe Fireshed to reduce wildfire risk to the City of Santa Fe municipal watershed. Read below to hear their story.
Written by Matt Piccarello. Originally posted on 2/21/19 on the Fire Adapted Communities Learning Network Blog.
As the igniters lined out at the top of the ridge,
I could see a mix of apprehension and excitement in their eyes. Forest Stewards Youth Corps (FSYC) Fire and Fuels crew members spent the last five weeks training for this moment. They had cleared fence line and prepped burn units, but it wasn’t until they had drip torches in their hands and a hotshot barking orders at them that they realized … this was for real. That the “10s” and “18s” actually meant something, and that yes, you really have to carry that much water. Their training was more than “a training” now; it was their foundation for actually accomplishing implementing forest restoration, and doing so safely….continue reading.
Forest Stewards Youth Corps crew member in action. Credit: Forest Stewards Guild
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