FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, APRIL 15, 2025
Wawanesa becomes first insurer to fund new research with TRU Wildfire
KAMLOOPS, B.C.— Wawanesa Insurance is leading the charge as the first insurance company to invest in wildfire-related research at Thompson Rivers University (TRU), strategically located in one of the world’s most active hotspots for wildfire response.
New research on community resilience initially funded by a $75,000 donation from Wawanesa Insurance will take place at the B.C. university, adding to the breadth of wildfire-related research currently underway as part of a larger initiative known as TRU Wildfire. TRU Wildfire brings together research, education, training, and innovation to offer a solutions-focused and comprehensive approach to current and future wildfire challenges.
“As a leading Canadian-owned and operated mutual insurer, we see the growing impact wildfires are having across our country,” said Kimberly Palatnick, senior vice president and chief personal lines officer at Wawanesa. “Prevention is key to reducing risk, and we’re committed to backing efforts that build safer, more resilient communities. We’re proud to be the first insurer to support TRU Wildfire’s critical research and help create new solutions that enable Canadians to better protect what matters most.”
TRU is home to the Institute for Wildfire Science, Adaptation, and Resiliency and is the only Canadian university to have two research chair positions solely dedicated to wildfire science.
“TRU is uniquely situated and committed to delivering research-based solutions that can best inform communities across Canada,” says TRU Vice-President Research Dr. Shannon Wagner.
The Wawanesa Insurance Wildfire Community Resilience Research grant was awarded to Dr. Will Garrett-Petts and Dr. Cheryl Gladu with TRU’s Community and Cultural Mapping Research Group to identify what motivates community and neighborhood uptake on FireSmart™ principles. FireSmart programs educate the Canadian public on preventative measures that protect homes from wildfire.
The research project brings together a team of community and academic partners, including municipal staff, arts and culture organizations, TRU faculty, community researchers, and university students to address the crucial issue of wildfire mitigation and the awareness gap regarding FireSmart Canada programming.
“Understanding and addressing this awareness gap is crucial for increasing community uptake and participation in wildfire mitigation and prevention—and is, we argue, most acute for smaller communities,” says project co-lead Garrett-Petts.
The team will explore perceived risk of damage, prior experience with wildfires, proximity to urban-wildland intermix areas, demographics, and the role of incentives.
“We are confident that cultural mapping methods can contribute an even more comprehensive understanding of the current awareness gap, providing a more nuanced, deep assessment of the public perception of fire risk, including public familiarity with FireSmart Canada, in particular at the neighborhood level,” says Gladu, who is co-leading the research team.
As part of the TRU Wildfire initiative, TRU introduced its first certificates and diplomas in wildfire science and wildfire communications in January, with courses expected to start in September 2025. Learn more at tru.ca/wildfire.
The Wawanesa Insurance Wildfire Community Resilience Research grant is funded through the Wawanesa Climate Champions program, which reinforces the insurer’s annual $2 million commitment to building stronger, more resilient communities. Wawanesa Climate Champions also supports initiatives such as Community Wildfire Prevention Grants to help Canadians access the resources they need to reduce their risk of wildfire-related loss. Learn more at wawanesa.com.
Contact:
Jessica Petruk, Senior Communications Consultant
Advancement, University Relations, TRU
250-819-5697 | jpetruk@tru.ca
Michel Rosset, Manager, Corporate Communications and Media Relations
The Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company
media@wawanesa.com
Research Project Details:
KAMLOOPS, B.C.—Project Title: “A Cultural Mapping of the FireSmart Program: Community and Social Drivers Affecting Both Neighborhood and Personal Awareness and Engagement in Kamloops, B.C., with Implications for Smaller Communities Generally.”
Project Leads: Will Garrett-Petts and Cheryl Gladu, TRU
Co-Researchers: Lorry-Ann Austin (Social Work and Broadcast Journalism, TRU), Marnie Badham (Fine Arts and Social Practice, RMIT University), Nancy Duxbury (Urban Studies and Cultural Mapping, University of Coimbra), Alana Hoare (Education and Leadership Ethics, TRU), Kate Fagervik (Student Research and Community Engagement, TRU), Lana Fine (Graduate Research Assistant, TRU), Tracey Kutschker (Independent Curator), Jayse Heer-Matonovich (Undergraduate Research Assistant), Sukh Heer Matonovich (Graduate Studies and Student Research, TRU), Jessica Mensinger (MHSU Interior Health), Luke Redgrove (Digital Media, TRU), Jason Schapansky (Trades, TRU), and Robin Westland (Geography, TRU). All members of TRU’s Community & Cultural Mapping Research Group: https://culturalmapping.trubox.ca/people/
Project Summary
Being “fire smart” begins with becoming “fire aware.”
Starting this spring, TRU’s Community and Cultural Mapping Research Group will launch a unique fire awareness program co-designed and co-delivered by community and academic partners, including the Kamloops Museum and Archives, the Kamloops Art Gallery, United Way, and the City of Kamloops.
The TRU-based research group has just been awarded a grant from the Wawanesa Insurance Wildfire Community Resilience Fund to conduct a cultural mapping of fire mitigation awareness in Kamloops neighborhoods. They will be using deep community consultation and visualization methods to identify what motivates community engagement with FireSmart program principles.
Project co-lead Dr. Will Garrett-Petts notes that “the BC FireSmart’s 2022 survey of wildfires and programs showed that a stunning 76% were either unaware or not very familiar with FireSmart BC. A follow-up survey in 2023 showed a 5% increase in awareness, which is promising but still leaves 71% either unaware or not very familiar with the program. Understanding and addressing this awareness gap is crucial for increasing community uptake and participation in wildfire mitigation and prevention— and is, we argue, most acute for smaller communities in BC’s interior.”
Awareness is crucial to program success. Existing survey research on Canada’s FireSmart program has identified a significant correlation between neighborhood awareness and individual preparedness. Approximately 60% of those who become very familiar with FireSmart go on to seek information on how to protect their homes, while only 3% of those unaware of FireSmart programming seek out such information.
While surveys can give us part of the picture, they do not fully explain the range of social and economic factors influencing the relationship between awareness and action. “We are confident that cultural mapping methods can contribute an even more comprehensive understanding of the current awareness gap, providing a more nuanced, deep assessment of the public perception of fire risk, including public familiarity with FireSmart Canada, in particular at the neighborhood level,” says Dr. Cheryl Gladu, who is co-leading the research team.
The mapping promises to make visible patterns of awareness and an array of socio-economic factors that influence awareness and adoption of mitigation programs like FireSmart. The team will be exploring perceived risk of damage, prior experience with wildfires, proximity to urban-wildland intermix areas, gender, age, political orientations, education level, and the role of incentives.
The project brings together a diverse team of city directors, coordinators, practitioners, arts and culture organizations, faculty, community researchers, and students to address the crucial issue of wildfire mitigation and the awareness gap regarding FireSmart Canada programming.
Many of those involved contributed their cultural mapping expertise to the development of Kamloops’ Cultural Strategic Plan via the You are Here Project, which, starting in 2022, successfully engaged thousands of Kamloops residents. “We are anticipating a similar level of cultural mapping participation and engagement,” says Garrett-Petts. “Thanks to the support from the museum and the art gallery, we will be combining community consultation with map exhibition as a way to increase public awareness and make visible those FireSmart BC mitigation measures that the community finds compelling.”
Note: Wawanesa Insurance is leading the charge as the first insurance company to invest in wildfire-related research at Thompson Rivers University (TRU), strategically located in one of the world’s most active hotspots for wildfire response.