HEART Force Wildfire Resilience Game

HEART Force, Center for Education, Engagement, and Evaluation

This resource outlines an engaging role-play activity in which students apply knowledge of wildfire mitigation, preparedness, and resilience to planning for community wildfire preparedness. The game also includes content related to the mental health impacts of wildfire, multicultural needs and responses, and housing availability and affordability.

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Notes from our reviewers

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This is a great summative activity for students to build upon knowledge gained in the Wildfire lessons in the HEART Force curriculum, and apply what they've learned. This game can also be used to develop action project ideas.
The game emphasizes the importance of preparedness, mitigation, and community recovery, and the role youth can play in adapting to increasing wildfire severity and frequency. The resource was developed in collaboration with expert scientists and recovery managers. Passed initial science review - expert science review pending.
The activity is a game in which players take on roles of different community members to plan for and ultimately respond to a wildfire in their community. The game encourages communication and collaboration and gives students a systems-level understanding of natural hazard response and recovery. This game is part of larger curricula on wildfire in Colorado, focusing on rural communities, but it can be used for any community facing wildfire challenges. Other lessons in the unit provide case study examples and opportunities for students to engage with wildfire data. The resource includes an alternative to the Wildfire Response Game for students experiencing related trauma.
A script is provided to guide the facilitator through the steps of the game. Suggestions for Trauma-Informed Practices are highlighted in green, including additional scripts. A few links are broken on the teacher guide but are accessible elsewhere on the site. Materials can be printed directly from the website, or teachers can contact the CIRES CEEE team to request a printed copy of the game (ceee@colorado.edu).