The Nature of Fire

Teaching Fire Ecology Through Outdoor, Hands-On Learning How do you teach students about fire? Fire is one of the most important—and often misunderstood—forces shaping Oklahoma’s landscapes. For educators, it provides an opportunity to teach ecology, wildlife, forests, plant communities, succession, and human impacts through a topic that students already find fascinating. Join us for The Nature of Fire, a hands-on professional learning workshop designed for educators who want practical ways to teach students about fire ecology and prescribed fire. We’ll use Project Learning Tree’s Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide to explore how fire shapes ecosystems and how these concepts can become engaging, outdoor learning experiences. We’ll be learning at Martin Nature Park, where prescribed fire has recently been used as a land-management tool to support native plant communities and wildlife habitat. The park provides a real-world setting to explore what fire does to a landscape—and why land managers intentionally put fire back on the ground. Learn How to Teach Fire This workshop is about more than learning how fire works. It’s about how to teach it. Participants will: • Explore age-appropriate ways to introduce students to fire ecology • Use hands-on Project Learning Tree activities to investigate fire, ecosystems, and succession • Examine the fire triangle and use it as a teaching tool • Explore how fire affects plants, wildlife, and habitat • Learn how prescribed fire can be used to manage Oklahoma ecosystems • Practice taking learning outdoors and using a real landscape as a teaching resource • Discuss ways to adapt activities for different ages and educational settings Take the Learning Back to Your Students Every participant will receive a Project Learning Tree Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide, featuring 50 hands-on activities that connect students with the natural world. Throughout the workshop, we’ll model activities from the guide and show how they can be used to teach concepts related to fire, ecosystems, environmental change, and natural resource management. You’ll leave with a curriculum resource, hands-on activities, and practical strategies for helping students understand why fire matters—not just what fire does. Why Martin Nature Park? Martin Nature Park gives us an opportunity to learn about fire in an actual managed landscape. The park has used prescribed fire to improve native plant communities and wildlife habitat, providing a real-world example of how fire can be used as a conservation and land-management tool. Rather than simply talking about prescribed fire, we’ll use the park itself as part of the learning experience. Workshop Details Date: Saturday, December 5, 2026 Time: 1:00–4:00 PM Location: Martin Nature Park, Oklahoma City Cost: $10 Audience: Educators and informal educators working with elementary, middle, and secondary students Format: Hands-on, field-based professional learning Curriculum: Project Learning Tree’s Explore Your Environment: K-8 Activity Guide