Education and Workforce Development
The Southern Oregon Forest Restoration Collaborative supports forest-related programs, education, and workforce development through periodic workshops, regular community meetings, and the development of training programs.
By leveraging funding to increase restoration, initiating a forum to discuss the need for and about the practice of restoration, and providing forestry and wildfire education to high school students, SOFRC provides solutions, capacity, and encouragement to the communities of Southern Oregon.
Through our strategic approach to restoration, we recognize the need for additional restoration workforce capacity in the Rogue Basin and are working with the Rogue Workforce Partnership, Rogue Community College, and Lomakatsi Restoration Project to create a pathway for institutionalizing a permanent forestry sector with well-paying, year-round jobs.
SOFRC recently helped develop a curriculum for high school students through a federally-funded Landscape Scale Restoration Program project for an Oregon Department of Forestry administered Forestry Education in Rural Schools Grant. The curriculum consists of five modules exploring fire-prone forests, careers in forestry, and fire management working with communities to protect them from wildfire.
High School Curriculum
Workforce Development
Workshops & Webinars
Community Programs We Support
Northwest Forest Worker Center: Promotora Program
Lomakatsi Restoration Project and the Northwest Forest Worker Center combined efforts to give a voice to the hundreds of forest workers who work in the woods on a daily basis to reduce the risk of wildfire, enhance wildlife habitat, and make the Rogue Valley a safer place to live.
FireBright High School Wildfire Curriculum
A set of lesson plans, resources, and tools designed to help students gain a deep understanding of Oregon forests, occupational fields of wildland firefighting, and natural resource management.
Through these facilitated partnerships, SOFRC promotes workforce development, shared knowledge and supports year-around, well-paying jobs that sustain ecological forest management and economically vibrant communities.
