Life After Fire: A vision for ecological and human flourishing

Fire has a distinct and creative role in California’s ecology as it cycles nutrients, controls insects and pathogens and carves out space for California wildflowers to bloom and flourish. Many plant and animal species have evolved special adaptations in response to the natural regime of fire and even rely on fire to regenerate and reproduce. Fires and modern fire suppression measures are destructive at the interface of the built environment and the impact is devastating to human and ecological health. By applying a regenerative and public health approach to the design and planning of our gardens, homes, and communities, this session proposes new and old ways of building that enhance the health of people and reduce the short and long-term negative impacts of fire risk to people and their communities. Additionally, as climate change increases the impact and frequency of disasters, proven methods for building, and strengthening community networks will be shared. This session will address the following questions.
• What is a healthy landscape and how does it contribute to pre and post fire resilience?
• How do we as designers, engineers, and planners, help create community networks and healing spaces after disaster?
• What are the ecological and human health impacts of material choices in fire country?
• What truly defines defensible space in a warming and more hostile world?
• How can we manage fuels in the wildlands without severely undermining ecological health?