The Fire Mentoring Program was launched in 2014 when TNC teamed up with Job Corps of Jacksonville, Florida to recruit and train 15 inner city youth as prescribed fire interns, opening the door for conservation careers. That first year, interns assisted with 23,000 acres of prescribed fire in the Osceola National Forest. The program grew in 2015-16 with 20 interns trained. 8 were employed for the burn season and 5 completed it. While still based in Florida, the crew expanded its reach to include managment of forests in Georgia. Funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation made it possible to expand the program in 2015-16 to include Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Funding approved in December 2016 from the Dobbs Foundation enabled The Nature Conservancy to extend the program into Georgia in partnership with the Brunswick Job Corps and Greening Youth Foundation. Over the course of the 2016-17 burn season, 33 interns were trained, 23 employed, and 17 completed the fire season - 7 from Georgia. They executed 93 burns for a total of 41,000 acres.
Going into the 2017-18 burn season, TNC renewed its commitment to the program with plans to add a fire team comprised of veterans from the Fort Benning area and to enhance the mentorship provided to interns. With regard to the latter, mentoring in prior years was largely conservation focused. Drawing from a network of multiple partners such as the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Forest Service, interns had the opportunity to learn from seasoned wildlife and forestry professionals. The attrition of 5 participants in 2017 (none from Georgia) highlighted the fact that a successful transition into a fire career requires more than vocational guidance and technical acumen. Many interns had not spent time outdoors in remote areas and had little experience working as a member of a team to reach a common goal. With this in mind, TNC added a week to the training regimen to provide participants an opportunity to explore the environment and complete non-fire field activities and team building exercises. In addition, TNC added a full-time mentor to each intern team to provide guidance on and off the fire line.
The Dobbs Foundation's renewed funding supports the program's Georgia based activities.
Grant amount: $75,000