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.
About MeFiTu
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 the 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.
A new MeFiTu
In 2023 we added new elements to MeFiTu. We continued with a theoretical session to explain key concepts related to wildfires and forest management and then, built with recycled materials (paper, cardboard, wool), trees and animals (sheep, goats, cows, horses…) two types of scenarios: a managed forest and one that is not. These two scenarios are created on metal plates that are burned to verify that in the scenario with more trees and more low vegetation, practically everything burns. We now relate this process in kamishibai format in which three characters (puppets of a firefighter, a shepherd and a farmer) explain the relationship of the forest structure with the behavior of fire and the ability to suppress it.
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 and talks in 2023
Mollet de Peralada (Girona)
Date: March 12, 2023
We carried out this MeFiTu workshop within the framework of the first Mollet de Peralada Transhumance Fair (Alt Empordà, Girona). We also gave a talk about the “Ramats de Foc” (Fire Flocks) project.
MeFiTu: Escola Mare de Déu de Montserrat (Barcelona)
Date: April 13, 2023
We were with MeFiTu at this school in Barcelona, with 10 to 11-year-olds. We carried out the workshop within the framework of the WUICOM Barcelona project.
Environment education day
Date: April 15, 2023
Together with the Fundació Miranda, we carried out an environmental awareness day in the Garraf natural park, where we explained the “Ramats de Foc” (Fire Flocks) project and held a MeFiTu workshop.
MeFiTu: Vic (Barcelona)
Date: April 24, 2023
Within the framework of the “Làctium” fair we held a MeFiTu for the little ones. At the fair, we also had a booth for the “Ramats de Foc” (Fire Flocks) project to promote extensive livestock farming for forest fire risk management.
“Ramats de Foc” in Santa Maria d’Oló (Barcelona)
Date: May 22, 2023
We explained the “Ramats de Foc” (Fire Flocks) project to students from the Escola Semon d’Olò in Santa Maria d’Oló (Barcelona). Núria Prat-Guitart, from the Foundation’s projects area, presented the project together with Àngel Marc Villazala, a shepherd who is also a member of “Ramats de Foc.”
MeFiTu: Barcelona
Date: June 11, 2023
Within the framework of the “Festa de la Ciència” in Barcelona, we brought the MeFiTu workshop to an eminently urban audience. During the event, we also gave a talk about wildfires.
MeFiTu: Prats de Lluçanès and Avinyó (Barcelona)
Date: September 18-19, 2023
Within the framework of the transhumance project “Camins de Vida”, we organized the MeFiTu workshop in Prats de Lluçanès and Avinyó, coinciding with stages of transhumance. The Foundation also had an active role in the organization and communication of this project that highlights the environmental, heritage, cultural, social and fire risk prevention impacts of transhumance.
MeFiTu: Igualada (Barcelona)
Date: October 21, 2023
We held a MeFitu workshop within the framework of the fair on forgotten plants organized by Eixarcolant. We had the opportunity to try the new format of the workshop with puppets and a “theater” (kamisibashi). We also have an information booth to explain the work and projects of the Foundation.
MeFiTu in nine schools in Tarragona
Date: In 2023
In 2003, thanks to help from the Diputació de Tarragona, we took the MeFiTu workshop to nine schools in the province of Tarragona. Specifically, in schools in Ulldemolins, la Sènia, Picamoixons, Corbera d’Ebre, Cabra del Camp, Roda de Berà, Juncosa del Montmell, Prades and Poblenou del Delta. More information here.
MeFiTu: “Festa dels Bombers”, Bellaterra (Barcelona)
Date: December 16, 2023
We held a MeFiTu at the operational center of Bombers de la Generalitat de Catalunya within the framework of the celebration that they hold every year before the Christmas festivities.
Outreach Materials (in Spanish and Catalan)
