LIVING FORESTS

Living Forests is a cross-sector partnership that weaves together contemporary fire science and Indigenous ways of knowing placed-based knowledge, to engage high school youth from and intergenerational community members from both Lake County and the Tahoe Basin in California. Currently a group of educators, scientists, land managers, and tribal leaders are working together create a space for environmental justice learning about community, land and people. Youth from these areas will learn how to manage “good fire” on the lands where they live, and engage with cultural traditions, storytelling, and regional ecology that supports and connects people to the land in order to create a thriving community. IDEAL is the educational lead agency in supporting the pedagogy and curriculum development of this project with HS educators, scientists, indigenous experts, and local artists, supporting students in these regions to become future leaders and cultural bearers in their communities. This project is a collaboration with UC Santa Cruz Center for the Study of the Force Majeure, University of San Francisco Community Architecture and Geospatial Analysis Lab, Robinson Rancheria Pomo Indians of California, Lake County & Tahoe County Departments of Education, and the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California.