Similar to the other pilot tests conducted within the scope of the EduFire Toolkit project, the objective of the Irish pilot test was to assess the Challenges and Units created within the project’s scope.
To that end, Leitrim County Council contacted Dervilla Casey, a teacher at Summerhill College, Sligo and invited her to take part in the project and test the unit and challenges of her choosing. She accepted to test the Challenges associated with Unit 7 – Response to Wildfires.
She attended the teacher’s workshop held in Carrick-on-Shannon in September 2023 organized as part of the TNP meeting held in Leitrim and got a briefing on the aims and objectives of the EduFire Toolkit project.
When the units and challenges were completed she invited Finian Joyce to attend the college to present an overview of the project to her Transition Year students (aged 15-16) (approx. 50 students) and to explain the concept of Project Based Learning.
Using the Units as background material and the technical support from Finian Joyce, she guided her students to investigate Unit 7 and Challenge 7.1 in particular. The driving questions were: How do the emergency services and other stakeholders respond to wildfires?
The process started with the students receiving a presentation on the EduFire Toolkit project in the college from Finian Joyce. This consisted of the background to the project, examples of recent wildfires in Ireland and in Europe, the structure and content of the units and challenges and an introduction to the exelearning platform and the project website.
The students requested an opportunity to debate and understand the role that the emergency services and other stakeholders play in responding to a wildfire.
In response to this request, a pilot test was organised where the various stakeholders involved were invited to come and speak to the students, to explain their role in detail and to demonstrate the various types of equipment used.
This included a brief overview of the project and in particular a closer look at Unit 7 and Challenge 7.1 from Finian Joyce – how do firefighters try to stop wildfires?
The role of the local municipal fire service from Sligo County Council highlighting their experience of dealing with actual wildfires in county Sligo,
Coillte, the national forestry management company and the priorities they attach to planting and managing the forests and their response arrangements in support of the fire service
Department of Agriculture and Food and their role in issuing fire warnings during peak season,
and the Irish Coastguard helicopter service and how they assist the other stakeholders in responding to wildfires when called upon to do so.
After a period of listening to presentations from the various stakeholders and some questions and answers, the students went outside and took part in some practical and hands-on examination of the various types of equipment used in dealing with wildfires.
The range of equipment on display not only looked impressive but was also very educational, as many of the students got hands on experience of trying to use it.
Here are some examples:
Following this pilot, the teachers and the students will divide the activities included in Challenge 7.1 among themselves. They will decide how they will complete the challenge and how they will present the results of the challenge to their school and local community.
To conclude, the students were actively engaged in the presentations and the demonstrations throughout the pilot test, and showed a genuine interest in the tasks to be completed as part of the challenge.
We want to express our gratitude to Dervilla Casey of Summerhill College, to Noel Jennings of Sligo Airport, to Michael Donlon of Coillte, to Tom O’Boyle of Sligo Fire Service, to Ciaran Nugent from the Department of Agriculture and Food, to Ciara O’Connell from the Irish Coastguard Helicopter Service who aided us not only with detailed explanations of the role of the various stakeholders in responding to a wildfire but also helped our future generations to be better informed about responding to wildfires.
