Keepers of the Flame: Learning to be in Relation with Fire

​Join us on Friday, May 3 from 11:30am-1pm in the Hartley Conference Room for a lunch presentation by Professor Beth Rose Middleton from UC-Davis, titled, "Keepers of the Flame: Learning to be in Relation with Fire."

​Keepers of the Flame is an initiative rooted in relationships-- between cultural fire practitioners and students/faculty, and between people, plants, and fire. In a context of settler colonialism in environmental policy, and increasing risk of catastrophic fire, Keepers of the Flame seeks to foster respect for Indigenous fire practitioners, increase recognition of the importance of fire as part of the landscape, and cultivate personal, place-based understandings with fire. With attention to the ongoing environmental injustices of land theft and suppression of Indigenous burning, and the inequitable impacts of contemporary catastrophic fire, through Keepers we begin to cultivate a respectful relation with fire, and collaboratively develop a decolonial vision for a more just landscape stewardship.

​The event is supported by the Doerr School Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Office, the Earth Systems Science Department, along with the Environmental Justice Working Group. Makoto Kelp, PhD (postdoc in ESS and DEI liaison) is helping to organize this event.