The Great Basin Institute is hiring community outreach educators for wildfire prevention initiatives in South Lake Tahoe, California and Reno, Nevada. Wildfire Community Outreach Coordinators will be based out of one of two USDA Forest Service visitor centers and provide educational programs to community groups that relate to impacts from wildfire (water quality, climate change, succession) and prevention strategies. These are seasonal positions, provided through AmeriCorps service. 

Wildfire Community Outreach Coordinators will serve either the community of Reno, Nevada and work on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, or serve the community of South Lake Tahoe and work on the Lake Tahoe Basin Management unit. The Great Basin Institute and USFS will train and deploy Community Outreach Educator to support targeted outreach to the general public, including property owners, visitors, and students. Educators will be trained to expand classroom education programs to include wildfire prevention messaging to schools in Washoe County. In doing so, this project strives to meet benchmarks set for Fire Adapted Communities by unifying implementation measures with educational outreach, and increasing the effectiveness of wildfire prevention strategies and improves community wildfire resilience.

Outreach is strategically Specific content for delivery is predicated upon informational resources provided by USFS and ensures targeted outreach is informed by current best practices. This collaborative effort unites USFS Conservation Education and Fire Prevention programmatic goals in a more consolidated and robust manner. Project goals to reduce the risk of wildfire to owners of structures in the WUI are as follows:

• To increase the general public’s understanding of fire in the forest ecosystem
• To directly educate communities, especially low-income communities, by communicating wildfire risk through public outreach and education;
• To improve public health and safety by providing additional patrol support to existing Fire Prevention and Visitor Services programs;
• To prevent and reduce total number of wildland fire and acres burned in the at-risk communities in the WUI
• To coordinate with existing land management agencies and partnerships to implement wildfire prevention outreach and education to maximize awareness of residents, property owners, and visitors’ in anticipation of future severe wildfire seasons.

Educational activities will target residents, property owners, visitors, teachers, and students.  General public outreach includes patrol education at recreation sites and developed campgrounds.  Educators will deliver informal and formal presentations, lessons, and programs. Improved signage at these sites, including fire danger adjective ratings, will reinforce the presence of fire threat and need for preparedness.

Additional outreach and education for homeowner responsibility of defensible space will occur through direct engagement in neighborhoods, at community events and with presentations at service club organizations such as Rotaries, Kiwanis clubs, and other resource and support groups.  All general outreach will be done in collaboration with environmental education agencies.

This is a 675-hour AmeriCorps service term for 19 weeks. The ideal start date is April 1; however, this is highly flexible. 

Location: Galena Creek Visitor Center (Reno) or Taylor Creek Visitor Center (Tahoe)

Compensation and Benefits: Living allowance of $347.37 every two weeks for a total of $6,600.03. Education award of $2,417.14, after term completion. Shared housing will be provided during service. Limited health, dental and vision insurance will also be provided at no cost.