Education and
Awareness
We want to have an impact on the perception of wildfires, by promoting the sustainable management of fire and natural resources through education.
MeFiTu: The Mediterranean Forest, the Fire and You
The Mediterranean Forest, the Fire and You (MeFiTu) is the Foundation’s flagship environmental awareness project. It works on concepts about fire ecology in order to change the social perception of fire, and show the need to learn to live with fire as another ecological factor, focusing on prevention and self-protection.
Thanks to MeFiTu we put on the table the fact that wildfires have been shaping our landscape and our biodiversity for thousands of years. We explain that fire is an adaptive element of nature. To do this, we establish a conversation about the most important factors that cause fires, and we reflect on the role that we must play as a society in order to manage the problem of large wildfires in a context of climate change. These are the main messages we want to convey:
- Zero risk does not exist, and we must learn to live with fire.
- Fire is part of the Mediterranean climate. It will continue to be so, and wildfires will be more intense due to the effect of climate change.
- We must invest in prevention (sustainable forest management), and in self-protection.
Methodology
We propose a participatory workshop in which, after an audiovisual presentation on key concepts, children use recycled materials (paper, cardboard, wool) to make trees and animals (sheep, goats, cows, horses…) that will form two types of scenarios: a managed forest and one that is not. These two scenarios are placed on metal boards that are burned to verify that in the scenario with more trees and more low vegetation, practically everything burns. On the other hand, the scenario with fewer trees, distanced from each other, and with grazing animals, burns very little.
The field trip is the second phase of the workshop. A forest area is visited, ideally a forest that has recently suffered a fire, to discover the environment and encourage students to reflect on what they have learned in the classroom.
MeFiTu workshops in 2022
Sant Genís dels Agudells (Barcelona)
Date: May 19
Within the framework of the WUICOM project, we brought MeFiTu to a celebration of the community centre of this neighbourhood that is located at the wildland-urban interface of Barcelona.
Escola Pia de Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona)
Date: May 26
We held a MeFitu workshop in two primary classes. Paper and cardboard trees were made and then placed on the metallic boards, representing a managed forest and another that was not, for burning in the school yard. We had the collaboration of two members of the ADF Garraf, who explained and showed the equipment they use in their work.
Gran Canaria (Canary Islands)
Date: May 28
Workshop carried out with a group of scouts, in collaboration with Fundación Fénix. The workshop served as training for local facilitators to enable them to carry out the workshop without the assistance of the Pau Costa Foundation team.
Escola Bellpuig de Sant Julià de Vilatorta (Barcelona)
Date: November 22 and 24
A complete MeFiTU workshop was held at this school near our offices. On the first day, we explained key ideas and burned two simulated scenarios, a managed and an unmanaged forests. On the second day, we went on a field trip we carry out activities in the forest to learn about the environment and link it to the impact of wildfires on the forests. This MeFiTu workshop was possible thanks to the support of Vallfirest.
Outreach Materials
Video Playlist
2022
Videos about self-protection measures, in collaboration with Aquae and Hidraqua Foundations.
Informative Thread
August 2
Informative Thread
October 24
International Day against Climate Change: Messages about wildfires to convey in a climate change scenario.