Piecing together the meaning of wildfire with WUICAN

Matthew Bees
October 15, 2024

Seated around tables in a sunny gathering space at UC Irvine, fifty attendees each received a large blank puzzle piece to color. The instructions were simple: draw your interpretation of wildfire. From abstract shapes and stick figures to detailed drawings, everyone had their own take on how to present fire. At the end, we put our pieces together to create a whole. As an English major and WUICAN Climate Communications Intern, I was excited to watch the puzzle pieces connect to create new stories about wildfire in Southern California today.

The puzzle activity was one of many at the second WUICAN All-Partners Convening, which took place at UC Irvine on September 26th, 2024. The exercise was introduced by Marianna Davison, WUICAN postdoctoral scholar, and Lisa Levenson, Director of Education Programs at Crystal Cove Conservancy, as part of a workshop focused on climate science and education. Throughout the day, I got to speak to experts in their fields and learned how they contribute to climate research and field studies in Southern California.

The Convening began with a discussion of WUICAN’s evolving model for co-governance. Victoria Lowerson Bredow, Director of Engaged Scholarship for UC Irvine’s Research Justice Shop (RJS), posed the key question: “What makes co-governance so essential for the structure of WUICAN?”

In response, Sarwat Chowdhury, Program Director of WUICAN, explained, “There are two aspects of co-governance. First, the overall governance structure of the network. And second, day-to-day decision-making. Hopefully, the care we take now to develop a  co-governance structure will provide lessons for others planning similar projects and activities.”

Angela Mooney D’Arcy, Founder and Executive Director of Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples (SPI), provided an inspiring and informative keynote address. She drew on her life story to argue for the inclusion of Indigenous voices in land conservation and climate action projects.

Madison Killebrew, Program Manager of Fire Prevention Management at Irvine Ranch Conservancy (IRC), presented the results of their survey of community readiness for wildfire. The survey studied how residents were engaging with information relating to fire safety.

At the end of the morning, Steve Allison, Principal Investigator for WUICAN and Professor of Earth System Science at UC Irvine, celebrated the connections that WUICAN has created. He called everyone to uplift other partners to maximize their capacities and encourage cooperation for future projects. 

“Through WUICAN, academic and community partners can synergistically support each other,” said Allison. “Together, we can help correct historical inequities in the way research resources have traditionally flowed.”

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Matthew Bees is a senior English major at the University of California, Irvine. He is a 2024-2025 WUICAN Climate Communications Fellow with the Research Justice Shop.

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WUICAN acknowledges our presence on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Acjachemen and Tongva Peoples, who still hold strong cultural, spiritual and physical ties to this region.