What do robots, mushrooms, and Girl Scout Camp all have in common? They’re all part of innovative solutions that merge tech and place-based knowledge to transform our approach to wildfires.
Fires are the single largest threat to forests in North America with an estimated 7 million acres burning each year. While fire is a natural part of many ecosystems, on a planet rapidly changing due to climate change, habitat destruction, and resource extraction, fire is becoming an increasing threat to nature and human communities alike. Just as human-caused changes have made fire a danger in many places, human ingenuity has the power to reimagine and remember how we, and the creatures we share Earth with, can live and thrive with fire.
The Conservation X Labs(CXL) Fire Grand Challenge is a global call to innovators to submit solutions to transform how we manage and live with fire in Western North America. This spring, a cohort of 12 innovators were selected to receive financial and technical support from CXL.
Innovators selected as finalists spanned across spectrum of interventions necessary to wholistically address fire challenges.
1t.org US was thrilled to host seven of these innovators for a fast-paced revue from innovators ranging from Canada to Mexico, each offering solutions that meld cutting-edge technology with ground up local and indigenous knowledge of the land.
•KaiGeoCon– A workflow process that strengthens adaptive management for wildfire mitigation landscape projects, applicable to many types of large-landscape forestry and ecosystem health projects
Coalitions & Collaboratives (COCO) & Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition- Coldfire project training native mushroom species to breakdown hazardous biomass into healthy soils
•FireSwarm & Cheslatta Contracting LP– An autonomous fleet of drones that will carry out cultural and prescribed burns in partnership with Cheslatta Contracting in Northern British Columbia order to increase ecosystem resilience and health.
International Savanna Fire Management Initiative (ISFMI) & Biomasa AC-Expanding Emissions Reduction Traditional Fire Management to Mexico’s Diverse Fire Adapted Ecosystems
•Plumas Wood Fiber & Real Good Soil– Producing horticultural potting substrate from forest biomass
•Vibrant Planet Data Commons & Kalispel Tribe of Indians– Braiding Tribal Needs and the Vibrant Planet Platform for Wildfire Resilience
•Envisioning Labs & San Juan Islands Conservation District– Post-burn monitoring of San Juan Island Conservation District’s prescribed burn and ecological restoration efforts.
Access the webinar slides.
Want to know more about these exciting innovations in the world of fire tech? You can find the webinar slides here.
Learn more about the Conservation X Lab’s Grand Fire Challenge
•The Fire Grand Challenge Webpage
•The Fire Grand Challenge: Tending the Spark Video
•Fire Grand Challenge Graphics