Support Wildland Firefighters and the Rainforest
Tax deductible
Why do Wildland Firefighters need support?
Wildland Firefighters experience rates of suicide, depression, anxiety, addiction, alcoholism, and PTSD at rates up to 10x higher than the average population. This quiet epidemic of poor mental health has been largely unaddressed in the Wildland firefighter community.
Many Wildland Firefighters work tirelessly to protect our forests, homes and communities, and their demanding work can sometimes have negative impacts on physical, mental and emotional health. These men and women work sixteen-hour days for fourteen days straight with extremely inadequate pay and have only two days to rest and recover before going back out on another assignment.
Prolonged periods of arduous labor in smokey, dangerous environments, inadequate rest and nutrition, constant vigilance, prolonged stress and cumulative fatigue can all wreak havoc on the body’s natural equilibrium. Periodic intense, life-threatening situations, near misses or tragic losses can result in trauma, grief and sometimes PTSD, and without the tools or the time to process these experiences some firefighters may turn to unhealthy coping strategies.
How does this program support Wildland Firefighters?
We are providing mental health programs for Wildland Firefighters in the lush rainforest of Costa Rica.
Our programs are facilitated by former Wildland Firefighters who specialize in mental health and spiritual practice. These facilitators help firefighter's to process trauma through nervous system recovery, mental and emotional health support, and meaningful connection to nature. In exchange, firefighters use their forestry skills to help us protect 7,500 acres of Eco Era's pristine rainforest.
Our upcoming program, offered in February 2022, will integrate health and wellness for firefighters while providing invaluable restoration work to the rainforest.
Learn more about this program and Eco Era.
Wildland Firefighters experience rates of suicide, depression, anxiety, addiction, alcoholism, and PTSD at rates up to 10x higher than the average population. This quiet epidemic of poor mental health has been largely unaddressed in the Wildland firefighter community.
Many Wildland Firefighters work tirelessly to protect our forests, homes and communities, and their demanding work can sometimes have negative impacts on physical, mental and emotional health. These men and women work sixteen-hour days for fourteen days straight with extremely inadequate pay and have only two days to rest and recover before going back out on another assignment.
Prolonged periods of arduous labor in smokey, dangerous environments, inadequate rest and nutrition, constant vigilance, prolonged stress and cumulative fatigue can all wreak havoc on the body’s natural equilibrium. Periodic intense, life-threatening situations, near misses or tragic losses can result in trauma, grief and sometimes PTSD, and without the tools or the time to process these experiences some firefighters may turn to unhealthy coping strategies.
How does this program support Wildland Firefighters?
We are providing mental health programs for Wildland Firefighters in the lush rainforest of Costa Rica.
Our programs are facilitated by former Wildland Firefighters who specialize in mental health and spiritual practice. These facilitators help firefighter's to process trauma through nervous system recovery, mental and emotional health support, and meaningful connection to nature. In exchange, firefighters use their forestry skills to help us protect 7,500 acres of Eco Era's pristine rainforest.
Our upcoming program, offered in February 2022, will integrate health and wellness for firefighters while providing invaluable restoration work to the rainforest.
Learn more about this program and Eco Era.
Organizer
Eco Era
Organizer
San Rafael, CA
Eco Era
Beneficiary