Written by Mary Carson Bond
Auburn University will host its third annual Tiger Giving Day on February 21, 2018. Tiger Giving Day is a 24- hour university-wide crowd funding initiative. During this social media campaign, more than 20 one of a kind projects from Auburn University are showcased. This year the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences chose the “Fire and Flying” class initiative as its funding project.
Prescribed fire is critical to land and habitat management. As part of the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences’ curriculum, the school is committed to providing faculty of the Forest Fire Management class with the equipment needed to safely conduct prescribed burning as part of the students’ experiential learning.
This past year, the Forest Fire Management class has nearly doubled in size, and is anticipated to keep growing. Unfortunately, the school cannot facilitate this demand due to a lack of supplies.
In order to provide this valuable hands-on learning opportunity for all students, the school needs additional safety equipment and drones.
Purchasing additional fire suits will allow the school to accommodate more female students and various body types. Drones are more effective for monitoring prescribed burn areas. This additional equipment will increase safety and allow safer alternatives for monitoring burn areas.
When not in use by this class, the drones will also be available to other classes, which will enhance the learning experience, research and outreach opportunities available not only to students in the Forest Fire Management class, but all faculty and students within the school.
For more information about this funding project and the Tiger Giving Day 2018 campaign, visit http://www.tigergiving.org/ .
