The Wildland Fire Training and Education Collaborative (WETC) is a group of wildland fire professionals dedicated to the creation of quality, informative material related to wildland fire ecology and management. The major product of WETC is The World of Wildland Fire video series. WETC has developed a comprehensive list of content areas and is working with subject matter experts and various funding agencies to create and evaluate high quality educational videos for use in classroom, government and personal training.
WETC Guiding Principles
The following principles are applied in the design, development and production of WETC materials.
- Synthesize the knowledge in fire science
- Collaborate across universities, agencies and NGOs
- Collaborate across disciplines
- Be scientifically solid and both peer and user reviewed
WETC Objectives
Initially, WETC efforts have focused on communicating the basic concepts and principles of fire science, fire ecology and fire management. The following objectives are used in the development of WETC materials.
- Build a translation of current science into accessible, teachable lessons.
- Emphasize the lessons learned in the application of concepts and principles on the ground.
- Recognize that there is not just one cohesive source of information for the discipline.
Example: Introduction class uses over 15 sources instead of a single textbook - Develop a structure to the field of fire science and design each product to address a specific need.
- Provide free and accessible materials for anyone to use in the development of educational or training programs.