School for Inclement Weather: Fire Stewardship in Northern California

Through prescribed fire, rotational grazing, residencies, research, and craft, the school for inclement weather serves as a demonstration site for land stewardship and what we call disaster companionship: systems of knowledge and care that emerge from weathering the earth (and each other) amid periods of planetary demise.

In the last five years, we have hosted more than 25 training sessions, residencies, and collaborative research initiatives, engaging over 450 participants. This place and practices bring together firefighters, Indigenous practitioners, ranchers, ecologists, artists, technologists, researchers, and cultural workers in the shared work of tending landscapes, cultivating practical skills, and sustaining forms of knowledge that are increasingly at risk of disappearing.

A central focus of our work is community-based fire stewardship. In collaboration with the Kashia Pomo Cultural Department, Prescribed Burn Associations, Fire Forward, and more than 30 partners, we have supported prescribed fire and grazing efforts that have restored over 120 acres of the school while contributing to the revitalization of cultural fire practices and bioregional ecological knowledge. Through initiatives such as ATTUNE and Firecraft, we have certified more than 80 Wildland Firefighter Type II practitioners.

In collaboration with our flock of 18 sheep, we regenerate perennial grasslands, restore healthy soil-carbon cycles, and support fire-adapted ecosystems. This work functions both as a living fire break and as a slow, ongoing practice of ecological restoration.

This year, we are seeking to raise $25,000 through the Ma Earth funding round to support our next season of work. Funds raised through this campaign will help support immediate priorities, including:

• Critical equipment and tools needed for the upcoming prescribed burn season and fire stewardship trainings • Feed, fencing, and land tools for caring for our flock of sheep and maintaining rotational grazing systems • Repairs to an outdoor kitchen and gathering space damaged during last winter's storms • Ongoing land stewardship and operations

This campaign is one step within a larger effort to resource the school's long-term work. In addition to community support, we welcome conversations with aligned funders, institutions, and collaborators interested in helping steward this work into the years ahead.

More details on our programs, operations, and funding structure are available in the attached materials.