2020 Micro-Grant Winner: Leum Elvins
About Leum:
I’m a recently retired 7 year wildfire fighter and crewleader who is finding his way in the world without an ops briefing or a reliable weather report.
Grant Category: Videography
Impact Award: In Honor of Ralph Langlois
Canadian Winner
Project Name: Life After Fire
Project Vision:
Years of service, hundreds of thousands of dollars and person-hours have been spent making you an exceptional wildfire fighter. However sometimes the civilian world doesn’t really get what’s so great about starting a Mark 3 on the first pull–and finding uses for all those skills we’ve spent years developing can feel daunting. My project is here to say, “it’s okay that no one can build a camp fire as good as you can” and the skills you’ve learned can open doors you haven’t even dreamed of yet. I want to normalize the experience of wildland firefighters who have transitioned out and remove the fear of those who are looking to leave. There can be life after wildfire.
Previous Work:
Favorite thing about firefighting:
The adventure, the times when you’re team is a well-oiled machine and everyone can relax and have fun, the times when everything is going wrong and then the pump catches fire.