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Learn how prescribed fire rejuvenates the prairie grasses and wildflowers planted at the campus of Northwestern University, Illinois

Learn how prescribed fire rejuvenates the prairie grasses and wildflowers planted at the campus of Northwestern University, Illinois
Learn how prescribed fire rejuvenates the prairie grasses and wildflowers planted at the campus of Northwestern University, Illinois
Prairie grasses burning in a prescribed fire on the campus of Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
Courtesy of Northwestern University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
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Related Articles: Northwestern University , prairie , prescribed fire

Transcript

Fifteen, almost 20 years ago, there were a lot of prairie grasses and wildflowers planted in here. And the burn is meant to rejuvenate those plants. It's just a natural process in the plains, in the prairies. And it's become kind of a maintenance procedure for us now, really. A lot of undesirable type plants have gotten in here. It gets the weeds knocked out of here. Basically, what it does a lot faster than we can do it manually. And they can do in about four hours, a couple of my guys would take four days.

It's just a practical way to go. Try to do it during spring break every year. I may have to call them off two or three times from the scheduled days just because of the winds. It's maybe once out of the last 15 years that I have actually been able to do it during the spring break. Either snow or rain or-- it's been fairly dry so conditions are actually really good. TGF enterprises, they are actually firemen.

Wilmette, I believe, and-- they're licensed to do this and they have their own water source here to-- I've never had a problem with them at all. When I put out that broadcast message to the university-- fire?! It's really no big deal. I've never had a problem.