Knight Talks is a student-produced talk show, discovering unique stories of alumni, faculty and staff of UF's College of Journalism and Communications broadcasting on WUFT-TV.
WEST END, N.C. - Jesse Wimberley burns the woods with neighbors.
Using new tools to revive an old communal tradition, they set fire to wiregrasses and forest debris with a drip torch, corralling embers with leaf blowers.
Wimberley, 65, gathers …
As the U.S. tries to restore a key forest ecosystem in the Southeast, landowners must light more fires on private property. The so-called “prescribed burns” are key to clearing forest debris and allowing pine cones to drop seeds onto the floor. That s important for longleaf pine, a resilient tree species that evolved in a natural fire cycle. Forestry experts say volunteer prescribed burn associations are spreading the practice to private landowners, who are crucial to the restoration and unreached by many agencies.
As the U.S. tries to restore a key forest ecosystem in the Southeast, landowners must light more fires on private property. The so-called “prescribed burns” are key to clearing forest debris and allowing pine cones to drop seeds onto the floor. That s important for longleaf pine, a resilient tree species that evolved in a natural fire cycle. Forestry experts say volunteer prescribed burn associations are spreading the practice to private landowners, who are crucial to the restoration and unreached by many agencies. A North Carolina group finds the practice draws people closer to the land and their neighbors. One member says it s “empowering” and a “tangible way to connect to the past and also guide the future.”