Increasing Public Awareness and
Knowledge of Wildland Fire Through County Programs
Final Report to the
Advisory Council on Environmental Education
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Martha Monroe
School of Forest Resources and Conservation
University of Florida
May 30, 2000
Increasing Public Awareness and Knowledge of Wildland Fire
Through County Programs
Executive Summary
This
project created a Wildland Fire Education Toolkit of resources and conducted
training for county extension agents, Division of Forestry field staff, and
other personnel to use the kit to deliver public programs. The project was
based on existing research about the value of experience and educational
materials in enhancing awareness,
knowledge, and comfort with the use of prescribed fire in suburban areas
and a survey of Florida residents to assess knowledge and attitudes of the
public.
This
toolkit was made possible by a healthy partnership formed by the School of
Forest Resources and Conservation at UF, Department of Wildlife Ecology and
Conservation at UF, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and the Florida Division of
Forestry (DOF). The School of Forest
Resources and Conservation provided leadership and was responsible for
physically assembling the toolkits. Both the School of Forest Resources and
Conservation and the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation developed
new extension publications and led the needs assessment and evaluation
throughout the project. The Nature
Conservancy, having expertise in public relations and media, guided the
development and pilot testing of the press kit and a case study of a
demonstration area. The Florida
Division of Forestry provided expertise on wildland fire in Florida, provided a
variety of Toolkit materials, and supplied field staff to use the toolkit with
the public.
A
needs assessment reached 675 rural and suburban residents in Florida. A series of questions explored these
residents’ knowledge and attitudes about wildfires and prescribed fires. This survey revealed that respondents
realize that fire is good for certain natural areas but they have concerns
about the effects of prescribed fire on air quality and wildlife. These results helped to guide the development
of materials for the toolkit.
We
conducted a workshop attended by 23 agencies and organizations interested in
landscaping and natural resource management to better refine a common message
about landscaping for fire in Florida. This activity generated new information
and enabled the Toolkit materials to promote concepts that have never been
mentioned in national publications
about wildland fire protection.
The
objective of the project was to allow county extension agents and DOF personnel
to share a locally specific message about wildland fire to a target audience by
conducting public programs, establishing demonstration areas, and obtaining
increased media coverage. To do this,
the toolkit needed to have flexible, multiple resources. The final product consisted of a manual,
press kit, CD-ROM, video library, fact sheets, brochures, doorhangers, educator
guide, and a roadside sign. All of this was packaged in a plastic, durable
container labeled with a full-color sticker of a cameraman filming a TNC staff
member explaining a prescribed fire.
We
produced and distributed 166 kits (136 to agencies in Florida; 30 to extension
and forestry offices in the southeastern states), including 25,000 copies of a
new brochure on landscaping in fire-prone areas, multiple copies of existing
brochures and doorhangers, and 10,000 copies of new extension fact sheets on
prescribed burning benefits, regulations, air quality, wildlife, development
concerns. A minimum of 2 roadside signs went to nearly every county in the
state.
The
toolkits were distributed in January of 2000 at a series of one-day workshops
held at 3 sites in North and Central Florida.
The training workshops were designed to help counties adapt the toolkit
resources, target high-risk populations, and deliver helpful programs. Pre- and
post-assessments completed by the training participants indicated that the
workshops were well received and the participants were well prepared to conduct
programs. By including forestry, fire and emergency management, and other
resource specialists in the workshops, we helped provide county extension
agents with outside experts they could tap to conduct programs, hold
demonstration burns, and answer questions in their area.
In
February, March, and April, these teams and individuals quickly launched a wide
variety of wildland fire activities, reaching over 2 million citizens through
newspapers and television, hosting programs for over 2,000 individuals, and
distributing brochures and information through county fairs, mall displays, and
neighborhood associations. They were quite creative in their use of the toolkit
resources: some created displays by printing the photographs on the CD, another
held a media event on the site of an old prescribed fire to show people how the
land recovers, and another created a flyer for distribution in all the church
bulletins in the county.
Evaluation
forms completed by participants from a few of the public programs conducted by
toolkit users demonstrated an overall appreciation for and approval of these
public programs. County teams that returned reporting forms expressed a need to
increase attendance at these public programs and highlighted numerous success
stories as a result of the public programs and media coverage. Many county teams reported that they have
realized increased opportunities to work with other agencies and opportunities
for more public programs in the future.
We
are most grateful for the opportunity that ACEE gave us to create needed
materials, to enhance the ability of our agencies to deliver information, and
to help improve citizen’s awareness and knowledge of wildland fire. These
toolkits will be used for many years to build county programs; the resources
will continue to be distributed and shared throughout the southeast. New
programs, such as Firewise Communities, will complement the strong foundation
we have established within the Division of Forestry, The Nature Conservancy,
and the Cooperative Extension Service of the University of Florida.
Increasing Public Awareness and Knowledge of Wildland Fire
Through County Programs
The
Wildland Fire Education Toolkit project completed a number of activities that
mark key points in the program development process, each of which will be
described in terms of the activity, the outcome, the numbers, and the evaluation.
These activities are: building a partnership, conducting a needs assessment,
developing materials, training local teams, and conducting public programs.
1.
Building
a Partnership
Activity and Outcome
A project of this size often
involves partner agencies and organizations. A successful project requires a
successful partnership. This project was designed by a team of partners: School
of Forest Resources and Conservation at UF, Department of Wildlife Ecology and
Conservation at UF, The Nature Conservancy, and the Florida Division of
Forestry. Each partner contributed the skills and expertise to the project by
folding this activity into their existing workload. Each partner was also able
to get out of the project something that significantly enhanced their own
organizational or personal goal.
University
of Florida
provided leadership for the team, orchestrated most of the development of new
extension materials, produced the kits, and provided support to the county
teams. This directly matches the job description for Martha Monroe and Alan
Long as a part of the Cooperative Extension Service. Not only did this project
greatly enhance the ability of extension agents to deliver wildland fire
programs, but also the project sharpened awareness of the need for more natural
resource agents in the state and a different model of natural resource
inservice training delivery. This project is helping to change the nature of
natural resource extension programming in Florida, for the better. Another
faculty member, Susan Jacobson from the Department of Wildlife Ecology and
Conservation provided leadership for the needs assessment and evaluation
design. This directly matches Susan Jacobson’s expertise and professional
research interests. She is using the data to generate research publications,
which is how success is measured in her field. Also in the Wildlife Department,
Marty Main and George Tanner wrote an extension publication on wildlife and
wildfire after the needs assessment revealed public confusion on this topic.
With project funds, the School of Forest Resources hired a program assistant to
supervise the needs assessment, the materials development and production, and
program reporting.
The
Nature Conservancy staff were instrumental in developing the concept of a demonstration
area for media, building on their previous expertise and their organizational
mission to increase public awareness. Frances Neville wrote the press kit
materials for the Toolkit Manual, and Geoff Babb led the team in pilot testing
the press kit and the prescribed burn demonstration area with media. Three
television stations appeared that morning to cover the fire, along with several
newspaper reporters. Each dressed in fire retardant suits, positioned
themselves in front of flames, and spoke to the camera with accurate
information about the value of fire in Florida. This activity was conducted
with and for the Volusia County Fire Department as part of their effort to
increase public acceptance for small burns in and around subdivisions to reduce
hazardous fuel loads. Volusia County provided the matching resources credited
to TNC (who received the grant) for this ACEE project. Both Frances and Geoff
reported on the press kit and the demonstration area in each three training
workshops, encouraging the participants to use the media wisely and to consider
where they could establish a publicly visible demonstration area to educate the
public about prescribed fire. A case study of the Volusia Demonstration Burn is
printed in the Toolkit Manual, and guidelines for establishing demonstration
areas are available as an extension publication.
Florida
Division of Forestry has ultimate responsibility for wildland fire in the state of Florida.
Although most of their effort has traditionally been on suppressing wildfires
and supervising prescribed fires, they have recently begun to increase activity
in public education, communication, and wildland fire mitigation. The
development of this Toolkit was seen as a complementary process and the
workshop helped train their staff in the importance of public perceptions. Pat
Garner, Matt Weinell, and Rich Ashley shared leadership for their agency
throughout the project as their own job descriptions changed in the wake of
additional funding for wildland fire programs. They provided expert review for
every document we produced, sent 62 field staff to the training workshop,
helped conduct the training workshop, and encouraged these staff to use the
materials and conduct programs in their regions. We currently have reports from
21 DOF staff who have done so. The Division of Forestry also provided multiple
copies of their existing publications for the Toolkits: The Educator’s Guide:
Fire in Florida’s Ecosystem, The Natural Role of Fire, doorhangers, and
brochures.
The Numbers
The
three lead partners each provided a staff to provide leadership on the wildland
fire project, and offered additional staff to contribute special resources.
|
Partner |
Key Staff |
Extras |
Additional Tasks |
|
University
of Florida |
4 |
35 |
EE
graduate students packaged materials into Toolkits. Undergraduate students
loaded signs on to a truck. Administrative staff handled funds and workshop
registration. |
|
Nature
Conservancy |
2 |
5 |
Fire
experts and communicators reviewed and edited the materials. Additional staff
served during the demonstration burn to manage the media and the flames. |
|
Division
of Forestry |
3 |
70 |
Field
staff attended the workshops and conducted programs. Fire experts reviewed
and edited materials and gave a presentation at the training. |
Additional
partnerships were formed during the project for specific purposes:
The
Florida Fire Chief Association helped to advertise the materials and the
workshops. No doubt this contributed to the attendance of 19 fire and emergency
services staff at the workshops.
FLASH,
the Florida Alliance for Safe Homes, provided materials for the toolkits and
enabled us to make workshop participants more aware of their resources and
mission.
The
St. Johns River Water Management District contributed a brochure on prescribed
fire for the toolkits going to the 19 counties they serve. One staff person
came to the workshop and received a toolkit.
The Evaluation
As
one measure of success, the Wildland Fire Education Toolkit Team won the
Outstanding Team Award from the Association of Natural Resource Extension
Professionals in May 2000 “in recognition of the interdisciplinary and
interagency team’s leadership and excellence in planning, designing,
delivering, and evaluating a natural resources education program.”
In
addition to the direct and positive outcomes explained above, this project is
also paving the way for additional partnerships and on-going efforts between
these agencies. The Nature Conservancy is developing the Natural Areas
Management Academy, to which DOF and IFAS/Extension are contributing; the
Division of Forestry is leading an effort to develop Firewise Communities
across Florida and Extension is playing a supportive role.
2.
Conducting
a Needs Assessment
Activity
A telephone survey of 675
rural and suburban residents of North and Central Florida provided very useful
direction for the development of the Fire Education Toolkit program. Key
messages that were identified by extension agents and home landscaping experts
were confirmed by this survey. Residents dislike smoke and negative air quality
effects of fire, and are concerned about the fate of wildlife in fires. This
information was used to develop Toolkit materials to meet these needs and
acknowledge existing attitudes, and was also used to help the workshop participants
understand how to target messages to the public in their counties.
The survey was created
through a process of question development and testing. Questions were
developed, reviewed, and refined by Fire Education Toolkit team members and
several outside survey experts. A final slate of questions was selected and
pilot tested by telephone on a random sample of 10 target audience members. The
survey then was refined according to the results and comments from the pilot
test. The final survey was put in machine language by the Bureau of Economic
and Business Research (BEBR), University of Florida, who recommended some
further technical changes to ease administration and improve responses to the
survey. The survey was administered by BEBR during April by a trained telephone
survey research crew. The BEBR system is able to randomly select and dial
Florida households, and the computer automatically brings up the next question
to cue the survey researcher.
The
final survey included 60 questions in the following categories:
5 true-false knowledge/awareness questions on fire
5 attitude questions on fire in general
3 awareness questions about prescribed fire
11 questions rating the risks and benefits of
prescribed fire
2 questions comparing the risks of wildfire and
prescribed fire
4 questions about likelihood of taking actions
6 questions asking what respondents would like to
know about fire
6 questions about resident’s environmental
surroundings
10 questions about respondent’s experience with and
concern about wildfire
8 sociodemographic questions
Outcome and Numbers
The
675 respondents in our sample are 43% male and 57% female and range in age from
18 to 90 years, with an average of 48 years of age. Although the sampling
procedure focused on rural and suburban
residents of Florida, 45% of respondents believe they live in a rural area, 36%
in a suburban area, and 16% in an urban area. Regarding education, 31% of the
respondents have a high school degree, 19% have two years of college and 15.5%
have a four-year degree. Only 12% of the sample have attended graduate school.
Regarding ethnicity, 86% are white, 6% are black, and 2% are Hispanic. Nearly a
quarter (24%) of the respondents worked in agricultural or natural resource
professions at some time in their life.
The Evaluation
The
analysis of the needs assessment is an important aspect of program evaluation.
This is the planning evaluation. It allows a program manager to design a useful
and targeted program and message. The results of this assessment provided just
that.
We
learned there is a somewhat schizophrenic perspective on fire in Florida.
People know it is good for natural areas, they think nearby residents should
tolerate smoke, and they know prescribed fire is “better” than wildfire for a
variety of reasons, but they want stricter controls on burning and they value
air quality more than burning. Thus, our materials should recognize what most
people already know and emphasize the importance of more novel benefits. Air
quality concerns should be acknowledged as well as the efforts that are being
taken to mitigate problems.
There
may be some confusion about wildfire and prescribed fire, as only 63% of the
population correctly identified the definition of prescribed fire, 25% answered
incorrectly, and the remainder didn’t know the answer. Although 37% (those who
answered incorrectly or didn’t know) is less than half the population, this is
a large minority who don’t know the definition of prescribed fire. In a recent
survey of all Floridians, only 40% correctly
defined prescribed fire. There is clearly a need for program materials to
emphasize the distinctions between wildfire and prescribed fire.
More
residents are unconcerned (45%) or moderately concerned (27%) about the 1998
wildfires than are very concerned (28%), despite the barrage of news coverage.
They believe the greatest benefit of prescribed fire is to prevent wildfires,
and maintaining natural landscapes is the least important benefit of the four
choices we provided. Respondents
believe that prescribed fire involves large risks to wildlife and of the fire
spreading to nearby land. Risks of car accidents, health concerns, and more
regulations are perceived to be less important, though they exist. Thus, how
wildlife responds to fire should be clarified and home landscaping measures
could be introduced as a way to protect property from the risk of any kind of
fire.
While
only 3% of respondents were evacuated from last year’s wildfires, more than
half were exposed to smoke from the fires at their homes. Furthermore, 30% of
the respondents said the natural area nearest to their home has burned since
they’ve lived there. So rural Floridians have a reasonable exposure, but not a
universal experience with natural area fires.
This may be the reason over 40% of the respondents claim to have already
trimmed branches and moved their woodpile to reduce their risk of wildfire.
Respondents
are most interested in attending programs about how to protect their homes from
wildfire and about air quality and health.
They are not very interested in learning about fire-prone areas near
their homes. Residents are likely to plant but have not already planted less
flammable landscaping plants; similarly, they are likely to replace but have
not already replaced fire-prone building materials; these could be valuable
program topics. Programs should be advertised through TV and newspaper media;
radio is not the source for information about fire. While residents did not
express much interest in attending programs to see prescribed fire
demonstration areas, we believe there will be value in the roadside signs
alerting people to areas that are managed by prescribed fire near their homes.
3.
Developing
Materials
Activity
The
identification of existing materials and the development of needed materials to
create the Toolkits was a large part of this project – from April 1999 to
December 1999. For written publications, each topic was outlined by the first
author and written into a rough draft. Each document went through at least 3 drafts,
the last version was reviewed by technical experts and editors. Final
corrections were made and the documents went to the IFAS Print Shop for
production and conversion to web-access. Each document is available to the
public through www.sfrc.ufl.edu
– Extension – Fire Information.
Early
in the process of this project we realized that a message for the public must
be carefully negotiated among all the agencies which have an interest in
landscaping and managing natural resources. We conducted a workshop with 23
agencies and organizations in March 1999 to better understand the conflict and
confusion surrounding messages about wildland fire and used this information to
carefully craft out materials.
Outcome
We produced the following materials for the Toolkits:
1.
Wildland Fire Toolkit Manual, which contains:
·
an
introduction to using the Toolkit with a summary of the needs assessment,
·
how
to order more extension fact sheets and brochures and how they might be used
with different audiences,
·
an
annotation of all five videos in the Video Library,
·
a
description of the 80 slides on the CD-ROM, and a sample presentation with 40
slides, background information, sample script, and directions for modifying
presentations in PowerPoint and Presentation,
·
a
press kit of tips for using the media and generic forms for a media alert, news
story, Q&A fact sheet, Dear Neighbor letter, and news release for public
programs,
·
the
case study of the demonstration burn in Volusia County and the sample media
materials used to attract the reporters and alert the public,
·
forms
for reporting on the county programs, media activities, and evaluating public
response, and
·
additional
information on the needs assessment survey, additional resources, DOF offices,
the toolkit partners
2.
Several new Extension Fact Sheets were produced though this project:
·
Landscaping
in Florida with Fire in Mind FOR 71 (a color brochure)
·
Developing Land in Florida
with Fire in Mind: Recommendations for Designers, Developers, and Decision
Makers FOR
63
·
Where There’s Fire, There’s
Smoke: Air Quality and Prescribed Burning in Florida FOR 62
·
Prescribed Burning
Regulations in Florida FOR 67
·
Benefits of Prescribed
Burning FOR
70
·
Designing a Prescribed Fire
Demonstration Area FOR 64
Effects of Fire on Florida’s Wildlife and
Wildlife Habitat WEC 137
4.
We
assembled a variety of visual resources and text on a CD-ROM and reproduced
them for the Toolkit. This was not a resource we anticipated including, but as
technology advanced through the course of the project, it appeared to be a very
cost-effective way to distribute slides and a very useful tool for agents. By
providing slide presentations in both PowerPoint and Presentation, county teams
walked away from the workshops with a ready-made resource for their
presentations.
5.
We
copied 5 existing, high quality videos onto one videotape and duplicated enough
for every toolkit:
Fire in the Southland – White Hawk Pictures and
Tall Timbers
Where There’s Fire – WFSU from the Crossroads Series
Wildfire! – WUSF from the Beyond
Science program
Florida in Flames – Florida Department of
Community Affairs
Wildfire: Are You Prepared? – WFTV with Florida
Division of Forestry
6.
We
ordered copies of existing brochures, doorhangers, and the Educator Guide, Fire in Florida’s Ecosystems from the
Division of Forestry to distribute in each toolkit.
7.
We
produced 150 roadside signs on ¾ inch outdoor grade plywood that are 4 feet x 4
feet to be mounted in areas that are managed by prescribed fire.
The Numbers
We originally produced 150 manuals and have since revised and reprinted 50 more. We produced 200 videos, 150 CDs, and a total of 10,000 fact sheets. To the best of our knowledge, the toolkits have been distributed to the following organizations and agencies:
|
Agency |
Number of Toolkits |
|
Cooperative
Extension Specialists |
4 |
|
Extension
County Agents |
45 |
|
Division of Forestry |
55 |
|
The
Nature Conservancy |
2 |
|
Dept
of Environmental Protection |
2 |
|
Fish
and Wildlife Conservation Commission |
5 |
|
Fire
& Emergency Management Offices |
13 |
|
Tall
Timbers, Landowner Association, RPC |
3 |
|
Florida
National Forests |
3 |
|
Out
of State Experts |
3 |
|
Southeastern
Extension Offices |
13 |
|
Southeastern
Forest Agencies |
15 |
The Evaluation
The
Toolkit materials were subjected to a lengthy and rigorous technical review
process that assured us that the materials were accurate. Because of the
interdisciplinary nature of wildland fire and landscaping, we called upon
resource people in a variety of offices and agencies, including air pollution,
horticulture, and energy conservation. The following individuals contributed to
the technical review process:
Anne
P. Birch, Brevard County
Jeff Bielling, Department of Community
Affairs
Robert
J. Black, University of Florida, Department of Environmental Horticulture
Jim
Brenner, Florida Division of Forestry
Jeff
Caster, Florida Department of Transportation
Pete
Colverson, The Nature Conservancy
David
Drylie, Landscape Architect
Mary
Duryea, University of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation
Janice
Easton, University of Florida, School of Forest Resources and Conservation
Megan Gajdos, Florida Alliance for Safe Homes
Larry George, Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Lane Green, Tall Timbers Research Station
David Halsey, Florida Department of Community Affairs
Sharon
Hermann, Tall Timbers Research Station
Jim
Karels, Florida Division of Forestry
Jerry
Kidder, University of Florida, Department of Soil and Water Science
Mike
Kuypers, Florida Division of Forestry
Jerrie
Lindsey, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
Martin
Main, University of Florida, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Cheryl
Mall, The Nature Conservancy
Will
G. May, Alachua County Fire and Rescue Service
Steven
“Torch” Miller, St. Johns River Water Management District
Gary
Mullins, Ohio State University, School of Natural Resources
Kathleen
Ruppert, University of Florida Energy Extension Service
Kathleen
Weaver, Volusia County Fire Services
The
on-going requests for the Toolkit materials from across the southeast speak to
the need these materials are filling and their usefulness. We have filled
orders for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Mississippi Continuing
Education Program, Alabama forest landowners, and are working with the Florida
Park Service to identify ways to meet their needs. The concept of creating a
negotiated message was reported in an international newsletter on environmental
communication after a conference presentation. The Toolkit and the subject of
wildland fire have been presented at 3 national conferences.
The
color brochure “Landscaping in Florida with Fire in Mind” won an award as best
extension publication from the Southern Extension Forest Resource Specialists
in March 2000.
The
Wildland Fire Toolkit project also won the Research Technology Transfer award
from the Southern Extension Forest Resource Specialists for “Creating Wildland
Fire Demonstration Areas for Media.”
4.
Training
Local Teams
Activity
Three
one-day training sessions for County Extension Agents and Division of Forestry
field representatives were conducted January 24, 26, and 28 of 2000, to prepare
participants to use the Wildland Fire Education Toolkit. Sessions were held in
northern and central Florida, in Osceola, Clay, and Calhoun counties. Participants
increased their knowledge of wildland fire and public perceptions of fire;
developed local teams of resource professionals to implement the program; and,
became more aware of the media materials, demonstration area resources, and
handouts for public programs provided in the Toolkit.
The
agenda was designed to enable participants to work with others on their team
to:
A.
Learn about role of fire
1.
Explain
the natural role of fire in Florida’s fire-dependent ecosystems;
2.
Compare
various strategies for reducing fuel loads to protect homes from wildfire;
3.
Explain
the benefits and risks of using prescribed fire in the urban-rural interface;
4.
Describe
at least 3 actions residents can take to reduce their risk of wildfire;
5.
State
how wildlife respond to fire in natural areas;
6.
State
how smoke from wildland fire is regulated to protect air quality;
7.
Search
materials in the Fire Education Toolkit to answer additional questions the
public might have on wildland fire;
B.
Develop county programs
1.
Assess
their county for risk of wildfire, taking into account development patterns,
fire-dependent ecosystems, and fuel loads;
2.
Identify
populations who should know more about wildland fire and who should conduct
activities to live safely in their fire-dependent ecosystems;
3.
Match
program topics and communication channels to best reach these target
populations with key messages about wildland fire;
4.
Identify
prime locations for roadsign signs on prescribed fire;
5.
Adapt
press kit materials for local distribution;
6.
Conduct
public programs to inform residents of wildland fire and the actions they can
take to live there;
7.
Record
information about the use and success of their Fire Education efforts.
Outcome
Six presenters from the three partner organizations conducted sessions during each workshop:
·
Martha
Monroe, UF, facilitated the workshops and introduced the speakers. She
introduced the agenda and the toolkit and explained the results of our
assessment.
·
Alan
Long, UF, explained the natural role of fire in Florida, discussed fire behavior,
and used many of the slides on the CD in his presentation to introduce that
Toolkit resource. He also led a session on defensible space and landscaping
with fire in mind.
·
Jim
Brenner, DOF, presented a session on prescribed fire, regulations governing
prescribed fire in Florida, and concerns about air quality. He answered many
questions from the participants during each workshop.
·
Geoff
Babb, TNC, described our experience with the pilot demonstration burn, the
importance of communicating with media, and how the roadside signs can be used
to remind travelers of the use of fire as a land management tool.
·
Frances
Nevill, TNC, explained how press releases are written and used and gave a
variety of tips for adapting the generic press kit materials.
·
Alison
Bowers, UF, emphasized completing the reporting forms to help us meet our grant
obligations and answered additional questions about the toolkit.
The
workshops were extremely well received, with comments such as: Well prepared,
well presented, very informative, and great resources!
The Numbers
We attracted 134 participants from County Extension Offices, Division of Forestry, municipal Fire and Rescue/Emergency Management offices, National Forests, Tall Timbers, St. Johns Water Management District, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and other local agencies. Each person worked with others from their county (or nearby counties) to brainstorm audiences and messages for public programs, media sources, and locations for demonstration areas. Each office attending received a Wildland Fire Education Toolkit (though not each person). 63 of Florida’s 67 counties were represented by one office or another; 43 counties sent participants from more than one office.
Several
people called to receive materials who were not able to attend the workshops.
All are included in the chart below:
|
Organization |
Number Attending |
Additional Requesting |
|
Extension |
42 |
3 |
|
Division
of Forestry |
62 |
1 |
|
Municipal
Fire and Emerg. Mngt |
18 |
1 |
|
US
Forest Service |
3 |
1 |
|
Fish
&Wildlife Commission |
4 |
|
|
Landowner
Organizations |
2 |
|
|
St.
Johns River WMD |
1 |
|
|
Tall
Timbers |
1 |
|
|
Apalachicola
Planning |
1 |
|
The Evaluation
The
workshops were evaluated using several tools:
·
A
pre-assessment and post-assessment enabled us to repeat several questions to
measure change
·
A
post-assessment asked several additional questions about knowledge gained and
intention.
·
A
county plan for using the Toolkit was collected and reviewed for intention.
·
Anecdotal
comments and miscellaneous questions throughout the day gave us an impression
of satisfaction among all participants.
Because the workshops were attended by a large number of DOF staff who already knew a great deal about wildland fire, we did not put a lot of faith in our ability to measure changes in knowledge. Therefore, we limited the pre-assessment to a half-page form. We received a total of 107 completed pre-assessments, and observed that when asked to name 3 different things to remove from defensible space, 49% of the total responses were correct, 25% were fairly correct but not specific enough, and 13% were incorrect. 13% of the respondents left this question blank but we cannot know if they just did not know the answer or if they simply did not respond.
Comparing the same questions on the post-assessment gives us a rough indication that some learning took place as a result of the workshop. Again, because many participants already knew a great deal this is a relatively minor change. Nevertheless, from 114 completed post-assessments, when asked to name 3 different things to remove from defensible space, 54% of the total responses were correct, 26% were fairly correct but not specific, and 9% were incorrect. 11% of the respondents left this question blank.
Two
other questions were also included on both the pre and post assessment and
provide a more obvious change. Participants indicate an increase in confidence
in developing public programs on wildland fire, from a mean of 3.67 to 4.19, on
a scale of 1-5 where 5 indicates strong confidence. They also indicate an increase in level of confidence, from 3.79
to 4.11, in developing media releases.
The
post-assessment included a series of questions that examined respondents’ views
on the risk and benefits of prescribed fire and how these views had changed as
a result of the workshop. The responses
indicate that we did a better job of stressing the benefits of prescribed fire
than we did clarifying the risks of prescribed fire.
Several
sections of the post-assessment questioned respondents about the usefulness of
the toolkit components. The CD-ROM
received the highest marks but all components were rated quite favorably. Participant answers to the open-ended
questions revealed that several participants really liked the color
brochure. Comments on the roadside
signs were mixed. It appears that some
participants think the large signs will be useful whereas other participants
would have preferred smaller signs with more information. When asked about what
additional tools would be useful to inform residents about wildland fire, participants
suggested TV and radio PSAs, media-ready videos, Dear Neighbor doorhangers to
inform residents of upcoming prescribed fires, and publications in Spanish.
These are excellent suggestions that could be included in future proposals for
wildfire education materials.
The
post-assessment allowed participants to rate the usefulness of the actual
workshop sessions. All the sessions
received positive scores with the Landscaping for Fire earning the highest
marks. The session on reporting forms
was not as well received as the others but hopefully this just indicates the
participants’ dislike of added paperwork.
During the county planning time, county teams worked to create a county plan that they wrote down and turned in to us. A review of these plans shows a diverse array of ideas and demonstrates that many agencies intend to work together. Many of the county plans exhibit an application of the information presented at the workshops as well as the unique information that each county team member brought to the team specifically about their county.
The
final close-ended question of the post-assessment asked for an overall rating
of the workshop. On a scale of 1 to 4
where 4 is very satisfactory, participants gave an average score of 3.67. Questions during the workshop indicated that
participants were focused on the content, applying the information to their own
counties, and interested in the subject.
The post-assessment provided an opportunity for participants to
anonymously make comments and suggestions plus anecdotal comments during and
after the workshop were informally collected. In general these comments were
positive and covered all aspects of the workshops. Several extension agents mentioned that this was an excellent
workshop – better than many others they had attended.
5.
Conducting Public Programs
Activity
Teams of county extension agents, Division of Forestry staff, fire/rescue personnel, and other workshop participants were equipped with materials and information to return to their regions and educate the public about wildland fire. Within a short 3 months, they quickly developed and delivered a wide variety of programs, despite unfavorable weather and fire conditions. Several programs are described below, all activities are listed in the attachments.
· Union County targeted four high-risk communities and provided public programs in each. The Extension agent coordinated these activities with DOF staff and the municipal fire officials; they advertised the meetings through the church bulletins.
· Lee County Extension also worked with DOF staff to conduct two programs for homeowners about reducing wildfire risk. They scheduled these meetings just prior to a wildfire, and several participants claim they directly benefited from their attendance!
· In Santa Rosa, DOF staff worked with volunteer fire fighters, cub scouts, and members of a homeowners association to educate the public on wildfire.
· The Osceola extension agent, not to be deterred by the ban on prescribed fires, conducted a media event at a former prescribed burn. Rather than showing flames, these reporters helped the public understand that vegetation returns after a well-managed fire.
· Inmates and guards in Flagler County were treated to a program on wildland fire mop-up and ways to prevent wildland fire; they are often called upon to assist in cleanup.
· In Gulf County, DOF staff knocked on doors in high-risk neighborhoods to explain the risk of wildland fire and alert residents to the ban on outdoor burning.
Outcome and Numbers
Through
our county teams and staff, over 2,133,183 citizens were exposed to information
about wildland fire through mass media.
This included articles in 31 newspapers and coverage by 6 TV stations.
These
staff reported that they conducted 42 public programs serving 2,209 people in a
short three months. Many more programs are planned for the upcoming months, and
we would not be surprised if more programs happened than we heard about.
Additional
activities such as fair displays and roadside signs are estimated to have
reached 22,885 people.
From
our reports to date, it appears that 48 people made these programs possible: 11
from Extension, 22 from DOF, 7 from fire departments, 4 from UF, and 1 person
each from the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida
Alliance for Safe Homes.
The Evaluation
Much
of what we know about the public programs conducted by county staff comes from
the reporting forms completed and returned to us by users of the toolkit. The reporting form is mainly concerned with
county agents reporting what type of activity they conducted, what type of
audience they reached, and how many people they reached. A section of this same form, however, does
address activity impacts, activity problems, and activity success stories. County reports on these aspects of their
programming provide insight into the effectiveness and results of their public
programs. A review of the stated
activity impacts reveals that many participants contacted the county staff for
more information several days after the program was presented. Several participants were interested in
having a prescribed fire conducted in their area. The main problem reported was the difficulty in getting people to
actually come to the public programs and a consequential need for better
advertising. Certainly awareness of drought and fire danger will increase
interest in these programs. Without such weather, it may be helpful to include
advertisement suggestions in future Toolkits.
Activity
success stories often mention increased interaction among local agencies
including county extension, DOF, and local fire departments. Many county staff report that future
opportunities to hold more programs materialized at these programs as more
agencies became involved and as more people became aware of the issue. Thus the
Toolkit achieved the goal of building and strengthening teams of local resource
people who can provide programs on wildland fire. They will be able to continue
to work together in future years.
Included
in the toolkit is an evaluation form for county agents to give to their public
program’s participants to complete after attending a program on wildland
fire. Since we could not anticipate all
of the topics to be covered by county teams in their programs, we constructed a
two-page evaluation form that asked general questions about both wildfires and
prescribed fires. County agents
returned only 32 evaluation forms completed by participants in their public
programs. Agents have mentioned that
they did not have time to hand out and collect evaluation forms and that the
evaluation forms often appeared confusing since the forms were not specifically
made for individual public programs.
From the 32 forms we did receive, analysis reveals that the participants
were generally pleased with the programs.
On a scale of 1 to 4 where 1 is very unsatisfactory and 4 is very
satisfactory, participants rated their program an average of 3.69. Respondents indicated that they are likely
to take action to reduce their risk of wildfire and to work with their
community to address wildland fire issues.
This intention to take action is important particularly since this group
of respondents rate the likeliness of their area to experience a wildfire as an
average of 2.47 on a scale of 1 to 3 where 1 is not likely and 3 and is very
likely.
Several
questions on the evaluation form seek to measure a possible change in
participants’ knowledge and attitudes about the risks and benefits of
prescribed fire. One of these questions
asked how the program they attended affected their opinion about how large of a
benefit prescribed fire provides for maintaining the natural landscape. 23 of the respondents believe there is a
large benefit and 12 of these people said the public program they attended made
them view this as a bigger benefit than they originally thought. In the needs assessment conducted for this
project, respondents indicated that maintaining landscapes is the least
important benefit of prescribed fire of the four choices provided.
We
have received the names and phone numbers of 84 program participants and plan
to do a follow-up survey to further evaluate the programs they attended. Overall though, from anecdotal information,
reporting forms from county staff, and evaluation forms from program
participants, the public programs conducted by toolkit users have been
positively received and opportunities for more programs certainly exist.
Final Thoughts
The
Wildland Fire Education Toolkit Project was a golden opportunity to combine
forest resources, environmental education, and the extension system to address
an important public issue. The toolkit has made a big splash in the resource
management community and is mentioned in meetings and workshops on Firewise
Communities, wildfire mitigation, and natural resource education. Lessons
learned from this project have been added to an U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
course on outreach planning and a UF course on program evaluation. The
materials have been passed around at state meetings in Virginia and circulated
through offices in South Carolina. As more people discover the resources, there
will be a constant demand for reprints and revisions that we hope to be able to
fill.
We
graciously thank the Advisory Council for the resources to serve the citizens
of Florida in this manner and for the opportunity to enhance our institutions
to offer better environmental education programs to the public.
Attachments:
A. List of Training Participants
B. Summary of Public Programs
C. Examples of Media Highlights