Wildfire Facts & Fiction: How to Prevent Wildfires by Rehydrating Our Land

May 1 – 22, 2025

12 noon  -or-  7 pm ET

Course Description

Starting on January 7, 2025, wildfires tore through parts of Los Angeles taking 29 lives, destroying 18,000 homes and burning over 57,000 acres of land, 200,000 residents were forced to evacuate. Politicians blamed one another for causing the fire and for failing to respond effectively.

Before the final flames were doused on January 31, Congress responded by pushing the Fix Our Forest Act. If passed, the bill will ease environmental protections, allowing the timber industry to go logging in our forests in the name of wildfire mitigation. Proponents claim that “forest thinning” will reduce the risk of wildfire. 

The idea is that forest thinning reduces the “fuel load.” But thinning also operates to dry out the fuel, making it more flammable, not less. Wet “fuel” on the other hand, does not burn. So forest thinning defeats the stated purpose.

Experience confirms this. Some of the worst fires have occurred in areas that had been heavily logged and thinned, including the catastrophic 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California.

We also hear that “prescribed burns” are a way to reduce the risk of wildfires. But prescribed burns only remove the fuel for a year or two, after which the fuel has returned, in the form of leaves, pine needles, grass and brush. Unfortunately, prescribed burns, however well-intentioned, have no demonstrated ability to prevent wildfires, despite claims to the contrary. 

Meanwhile, research shows that the way to protect people and property is to make homes less flammable, via methods called “home hardening” and “defensible space.” These techniques are proven to be effective. Unfortunately, bills supporting these practices languish in Congress.

In “Wildfires: Fact & Fiction” we will look at what is wrong with public policy, but also what could be right. We will explore ways to prevent wildfires by rehydrating our landscapes, exploring real world examples of farms that have, unlike their neighbors, avoided the flames and survived the wildfire. 

And since all life consists largely of water, we will explore how thriving ecosystems tend to absorb water and dampen the flames. 

We will make sure to study beavers, since beavers make ponds, and beaver ponds and their surroundings tend to avoid wildfires.

Questions we will explore:

1. Do “forest thinning,” “fuel reduction” or “prescribed burns” prevent wildfires? What does the research say?
2. Does removing environmental protections prevent wildfires, or only make them worse?
3. Should public policy focus more on protecting homes? How does that work?
4. Given that wet “fuel” does not burn, what are the opportunities to rehydrate our forests, farms and grasslands? Where can we find examples of rehydrated landscapes that have survived wildfires?
5. Do wildlife benefit from wildfires? If so, how can we protect homes and people, while letting wildfires burn naturally?
6. Are large scale, heroic firefighting efforts effective? Why or why not?

Format

THE COURSE:
Wildfire Facts & Fiction: How to Prevent Wildfires by Rehydrating Our Land

• May 1 – 22, 2025
• Online via Zoom for 4 weeks
• Thursdays at 12:00-1:30 PM -or- 7:00-8:30 PM (Eastern Time, US)
• Recordings available to students
• In between classes, connect with the instructor and other students via an exclusive email group

To register, click the button below:

Your Instructor

Whether this is your first course or your tenth course, please join us if you are curious about nature and its power to restore the soil and other ecosystems to abundance. Everyone has much to learn and share, and there is much to be done. We are all on a journey of expanding our knowledge on nature’s climate solutions, and we each bring something valuable to the conversation.

If you have any registration or general course questions, email us at staff@bio4climate.org. If you have specific questions about the course for Hart Hagan, you can contact him at nhhagan@gmail.com.

Food & Farming:
How Farming Impacts Our Water, Wildlife, Climate, Health & Economy
February 6 – March 27, 2025

12 noon  -or-  7 pm ET

Plus, see our Free Introductory Class below!

Free Introductory Class:
10 Powerful Ways You Can Change Our Food System
Tuesday, February 4

12 noon  -or-  7 pm ET

Course Description

Food & Farming is an eight week online course (Feb 6 – Mar 27) that explores the impact of farming on our water, our wildlife, our climate, our health and our economy.

Unfortunately, much of the impact of farming today has been detrimental to our climate, our water and our wildlife. The purpose of Food & Farming is to explore how this works and talk about how we can make changes in our role as citizens and consumers, and also in our home landscapes. 

We will study the Five Principles of Soil Health, as set forth by North Dakota rancher Gabe Brown, in Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey Into Regenerative Agriculture. We will learn the DO’s and DON’Ts of building healthy, carbon-rich soil. This will help us be better gardeners, shoppers and citizens.

Our farms could be carbon sinks, absorbing massive amounts of excess carbon dioxide. Instead, most farms emit carbon. Our farms could be water-rich oases of biological diversity preventing both flooding and drought. Instead, many contribute to both flooding and drought.

And only good soil is capable of delivering nutrients to our food efficiently and consistently. We will study how nutrients flow from our soil to our bodies, via plants and animals. 

We will visit regenerative farmers such as Bryan and Anita O’Hara of Tobacco Road Farm in Connecticut and Paul and Elizabeth Kaiser of Singing Frogs Farm in California. And we will explore the world of Will Harris of White Oak Pastures in Georgia and Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm in Virginia.

What are these people doing, and why should we value it? How does it work? How can we apply the principles of soil health in our own gardens and home landscapes?

Finally, we will compare regenerative agriculture with organic agriculture, take a close look at how legislation impacts farming practices, and also how climate change is affecting our food supply.

Food & Farming reimagines our relationship with our land. No single industry impacts our world more than farming. And we can change our world decisively by how we connect with our land. 

As an introduction to the course and to provide you with a set of powerful takeaways as a small sample of the depth of knowledge you will learn in this course, we are hosting a Free Introductory Class when we will uncover 10 Powerful Ways You Can Change Our Food System. It takes place on Tuesday, February 4 and you can choose either the 12:00 noon or the 7:00 pm ET class.

During this Introductory Class, we’ll take a deep dive into the connections between our farming practices, our environment, and our health. You’ll discover eye-opening strategies you can use to create real change in your food choices and your community.

Secure Your Spot Today!

Format

• FREE INTRODUCTORY CLASS:
  10 Powerful Ways You Can Change Our Food System
  Tuesday, February 4
  12:00 noon or 7:00 pm ET
  
  THE COURSE:
  Food & Farming: How Farming Impacts Our Water, Wildlife, Climate, Health & Economy
• February 6 – March 27, 2025
• Online via Zoom for 8 weeks
• Thursdays at 12:00-1:30 PM -or- 7:00-8:30 PM (Eastern Time, US)
• Recordings available to students
• In between classes, connect with the instructor and other students via an exclusive email group

To register, click the buttons below:

Your Instructor

Whether this is your first course or your tenth course, please join us if you are curious about nature and its power to restore the soil and other ecosystems to abundance. Everyone has much to learn and share, and there is much to be done. We are all on a journey of expanding our knowledge on nature’s climate solutions, and we each bring something valuable to the conversation.

If you have any registration or general course questions, email us at staff@bio4climate.org. If you have specific questions about the course for Hart Hagan, you can contact him at nhhagan@gmail.com.

Trees & Forests

December 5, 2024 – January 30, 2025

Thursdays: 12 noon -or- 7 pm ET

Course Description

Trees & Forests is an eight week online course (Dec 5 – Jan 30) that explores the many benefits and wonders of our trees and forests, as well as the threats they face. 

We will study Trees & Forests from four angles: Wildlife, Wildfires, Water Cycles and Climate Change.

Did you know? 

• Forests are home to 80% of land-based species, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
• We have lost 16% of our forests since 2002, according to Global Forest Watch.
• Forests are essential in addressing climate change, not only because they absorb carbon, but because they nurture our water cycles.

We have every reason to preserve our forests. But we need more people who understand our forests, how they work and the threats to them.

We need to understand:

• How our forests work as ecosystems
• How our forests absorb carbon
• How our forests cool our climate by casting shade
• How our forests cool our climate by causing water to evaporate
• How a forest acts as a sponge, absorbing rainfall, so as to prevent both flooding and drought
• How a forest differs from a tree plantation

In this course, you will learn what constitutes a healthy, high functioning forest ecosystem, which is biologically diverse, with many bees, butterflies, birds and small mammals, all of which require insects and their larvae, which in turn require a variety of native trees and dead wood.

We will learn the surprising importance of caterpillars. Did you know? Just one pair of Carolina chickadees, each weighing ⅓ oz., require 6,000 caterpillars to raise their young in the spring. If you need 6,000 for one nest of baby chickadees, how much more do you need to support North America’s 2,000 bird species?

We will explore the mythology around wildfires. We will look at the benefits of natural wildfires and the limitations of “prescribed burns.” Did you know that the black backed woodpecker is specifically adapted to thrive in a forest after a wildfire? The same is true of Melanophila beetles.

We will explore the untold story of dead wood. Did you know that a dead tree is home to more species than a living tree? We will explore the value of dead wood as a source of food, water and shelter for myriad insects, birds, mammals and amphibians.

The “biomass energy” industry cuts down our forests and burns them in place of coal. This is neither clean nor energy efficient. Nor is it smart from a carbon standpoint. Quite the opposite.

We will study timber industry “talking points” so that we can identify them in the media. The timber industry uses terms like “fuel reduction” and “forest thinning” to extract the least flammable trees under the guise of wildfire prevention.

The good news is that knowledge is power. The more we know, the more we can teach and advocate. Much of the foul play is from our public officials, who will be responsive when we become aware.

We want to Learn, Do and Teach, then repeat the process. We want to become advocates. If you only want to learn, we have a place for you. But your instructor encourages you to apply your learning by teaching somebody, somewhere, somehow.

Format

• Online via Zoom for 8 weeks
• Thursdays at 12:00-1:30 PM -or- 7:00-8:30 PM (Eastern Time, US)
• December 5, 2024 – January 30, 2025, except Christmas week 
• Recordings available to students
• In between classes, connect with the instructor and other students via an exclusive email group
  

Your Instructor

Whether this is your first course or your tenth course, please join us if you are curious about nature and its power to restore the soil and other ecosystems to abundance. Everyone has much to learn and share, and there is much to be done. We are all on a journey of expanding our knowledge on nature’s climate solutions, and we each bring something valuable to the conversation.

If you have any registration or general course questions, email us at staff@bio4climate.org. If you have specific questions about the course for Hart Hagan, you can contact him at nhhagan@gmail.com.

Healing Our Land & Our Climate!

July 9 – September 24, 2024

Tuesdays: 12 noon -or- 7 pm ET

What if we could deal with the causes of climate change and at the same time deal with its effects? What if we could prevent flooding, drought and wildfires and at the same time cool our climate quickly and safely? And what if we could start this process in our own home landscape, where we don’t have to wait for a change in government policy?

In Healing Our Land & Our Climate (The Course), we are exploring how gardeners, landowners, farmers, ranchers and foresters around the world are restoring ecosystems and producing healthy food for humans and our fellow species, while simultaneously cooling their local environment.

Restoring healthy soil and ecosystems can also prevent flooding, drought and wildfires, remove carbon from the atmosphere, and deliver nutrients to our plants, making them healthy, resilient and nutritious. Discover how to make the soil healthy, how healing the land increases our access to clean water and increased food security in our communities, and how you can implement or advocate for these critical solutions to restore a livable climate.

Finally, we will explore communication strategies we can use to become effective at sharing these solutions in our conversations with others.

There’s still time to register using the link below. Sign up today.

Format

The course starts on July 9 and runs for twelve weeks until September 24, 2024. Classes are on Tuesdays on Zoom for 90 minutes each week. To accommodate participants’ schedules, you can attend the session from 12:00 noon – 1:30 pm ET or from 7:00 – 8:30 pm ET. The classes will be recorded and the recordings will be made available each week.

During the classes, Hart will host brief presentations, discuss the readings and videos, show you how to apply what you are learning in your own personal or professional life, and discuss effective communication strategies for sharing these solutions in your conversations with others.

Author Judith Schwartz will join us as our guest to discuss her book Cows Save the Planet and the critical lessons she has learned as an author of three books on how to heal the Earth and stabilize the climate. You will also connect with other course participants during the classes, and there are opportunities to connect in between classes as well.

Course Description

This course will explore the many ways to restore the land and the many benefits of healthy soil. This includes the power of healthy soil to prevent flooding, drought & desertification, remove carbon from the atmosphere and deliver nutrients to our plants, making them healthy, resilient and nutritious.

This course is for you if you want to learn …

• How to restore our ecosystems as a major way of addressing climate change.
• Why and how healthy soil and healthy forests, wetlands and grasslands can prevent both flooding and drought.
• Why and how to grow food organically.
• How to communicate effectively as an advocate for healthy soil and ecosystems.

We will mine the riches of Cows Save the Planet by Judith D. Schwartz which, as the subtitle of the book states, will educate us on “Unmaking Deserts, Rethinking Climate Change, Bringing Back Biodiversity and Restoring Nutrients to Our Food.” During the course, we will read and discuss one chapter of the book each week, studying how carbon and water flow through our ecosystems, how forests nurture our water cycles, and how ecosystems and water cycles impact our climate. We will learn that how we treat our land largely governs our climate.

We will review case studies throughout the world to provide real-life, practical examples of these principles:

• Our deserts used to be grasslands. What happens when you take a desert and turn it into a grassland? It cools down and becomes habitat for wildlife, including migratory birds. We will visit (via video) Alejandro Carillo, who owns 30,000 acres in the Chihuahua region of Mexico and is rapidly turning the desert back into the grassland it once was. This is exactly what our climate needs, especially since the Western U.S. is rapidly becoming a desert.
  
  
• We will travel (virtually) to China to study the work of journalist-turned-ecologist John D. Liu, who witnessed the transformation of the Loess Plateau. This region had been the cradle of Chinese civilization, but because of destructive land management practices, it became a barren desert by the 20th century and home to misery and poverty. Through John’s documentary work and the reporting of author Judith Schwartz, we will see the transformation of the Loess Plateau and millions rising out of poverty. This transformation cost only a few dollars per acre per year.
  
  
• We will study the work of Allan Savory, who started as a Rhodesian wildlife conservationist and ended up as the world’s most famous–in some circles infamous–advocate for cattle ranching. After years of close observation and devastating mistakes, Savory concluded that–far from having too many animals–the grasslands of the world did not have enough animals, including large herbivores such as cattle and sheep. Savory pioneered a management philosophy known as Holistic Management, whose practitioners currently manage over 75 million acres per year, according to the Savory Institute.

Using the bestselling book Dirt to Soil, we will study the Five Principles of Soil Health developed by author Gabe Brown and we’ll explore how to make soil healthy. Gabe is a North Dakota farmer whose book tells the story of his family’s journey out of chemically intensive agriculture and into farming methods that are respectful of our ecosystems. After several consecutive years of bad luck, Gabe and his family could no longer afford expensive chemical fertilizers, so Gabe had to learn how to build soil fertility by nurturing the biological fertility in the soil. This turned out to be good for the soil and good for the profitability of Gabe’s farming operation.

We will also study specific components of the book What Your Food Ate, by David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé, to learn how to restore the nutrients in our food by restoring the nutrients in our soil. This book is as well written as it is well researched. Montgomery and Biklé will teach us how healthy soil creates healthy plants and nutritious food while keeping our water clean. Conversely, they will teach us–specifically–how tillage, chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides are bad for soil, water, livestock, other species and human health.

Additional course materials will include carefully selected videos, such as Treating the Farm as an Ecosystem, featuring Gabe Brown and How Plants Cool the Planet, by Jimi Eisenstein.

Finally, as we come to a greater understanding of how to heal our land and our climate, we will explore several communication strategies during the course so we can become effective advocates of these critical solutions in our conversations. You will have the option (if you choose) to strengthen your skills and “practice your pitch” in short practice sessions during or in between classes.

Your Instructor

 The Primary Books Used in the Course

1. Cows Save the Planet: and Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Health the Earth – by Judith D. Schwartz (2013)
   
2. Dirt to Soil: One Family’s Journey into Regenerative Agriculture – by Gabe Brown (2018)

 Supplemental Book Used in the Course

1. What Your Food Ate: How to Heal Our Land and Reclaim Our Health – by David R. Montgomery and Anne Biklé (2022)

Whether this is your first course or your tenth course, please join us if you are curious about nature and its power to restore the soil and other ecosystems to abundance. Everyone has much to learn and share, and there is much to be done. We are all on a journey of expanding our knowledge on nature’s climate solutions, and we each bring something valuable to the conversation.

If you have any registration or general course questions, email us at staff@bio4climate.org. If you have specific questions about the course for Hart Hagan, you can contact him at nhhagan@gmail.com.