The Community Wildfire Ambassador Approach
The neighborhood ambassador approach relies on both coordinators and ambassadors.
Coordinators
Recruit and train ambassadors (residents/volunteers) to be experts at the community level.
- Support ambassadors in developing and implementing projects
- Help build community cohesion
- Track volunteer hours for funders, coordinate projects such as vegetation removal and disposal
- Act as liaisons between residents and agency/subject matter experts
- Assist with coordinating financial assistance to undertake mitigation work
- Answer day-to-day questions from residents and volunteers
- Foster relationships between ambassadors and ambassador communities
- Keep ambassadors informed of training, funding, and partnership opportunities.
Ambassadors
Help to engage and motivate their neighbors in their wildfire preparedness efforts.
- Help build neighborhood cohesion
- Share needs with CWA Coordinators
- Coordinate and manage projects and other volunteers in a community
- Act as a champion for fire adapted communities work within their communities
- Share successes and challenges with other ambassadors
- Lead by example
- Advocate for fire mitigation work within and around community
- Connect neighbors to available resources
- Engage with local CWA program
- Log community volunteer hours and actions
Integrating the CWA Approach Into Ongoing Programs
The Community Wildfire Ambassador Approach is not a new program but rather a new way to engage with resident leaders or ambassadors to ensure continued engagement and independence as they lead fire adapted communities work within their own community. CWA is specifically designed to complement programs like Firewise USA® by bringing resident leaders together to learn from success and challenges in neighboring communities. Ambassadors are expected to share information about existing programs like Wildfire Ready Neighbors to ensure the community members they serve are utilizing any and all tools to reduce wildfire risk for their property and community. A coordinators role is to regularly engage with ambassadors to ensure steady progress towards fire adaptation by inspiring and removing barriers in the way of progress.
A Statewide Approach with Local Impact
CWA is designed to be utilized by local organizations to develop continued engagement between ambassadors and coordinators. While there is a statewide framework, place based organizations need to work with their ambassadors to determine what practices will work best for them in their communities. CWA programs across the state take different forms out of necessity but the consistent approach across the board emphasizes engagement, sharing, and learning to promote additional action on the ground.
See the approach at work
A fire adapted communities (FAC) neighborhood ambassador approach is a mechanism for reaching out to and engaging with neighborhoods to help them understand their wildfire risk and encourage and motivate residents to take action to reduce that risk. In Colorado, Wildfire Adapted Partnership has been running an ambassador program since 2004. With over 150 ambassadors across three counties, communities and residents in Colorado are developing skill sets and knowledge bases vital to successfully engage in wildfire safety and preparedness at a local level.
The Falls Creek Ranch Community in Colorado is the prime example of a volunteer neighborhood ambassador approach resulting in concrete, visible benefits to a community. Read about their accomplishments on the FACNet Blog.
Take Action Today - Protect Your Community
Reach out to discuss how you can bring the Community Wildfire Ambassador approach to your area.
