Fire is one of the most important — and misunderstood — tools in conservation.
Watch as students in UW–Madison’s prescribed fire ecology and implementation course head to Curtis Prairie at the UW Arboretum to put classroom lessons into practice. From lighting prescribed burns to practicing fire suppression techniques, students gain hands-on experience managing fire safely and effectively.
Along the way, you’ll hear from students about why they signed up for the course, what it’s like working on a live burn crew, and how fire helps maintain healthy prairies, grasslands, wetlands, and forests.
So, grab your helmet, gloves, and plenty of water, and join us in the field as we explore how fire can be used to protect and restore Wisconsin’s landscapes.
Transcript
Transcript may be edited for clarity or brevity.
*Fire Crackling*
Alex (instructor): My name’s Alex Wenthe. I’m the lead instructor for this course. The title of the course is prescribed fire ecology and implementation, so we really focus on the implementation side of prescribed fire. We like to talk about the why and why it’s important and things like that. We really like to get the students out into the field and seeing live fire and getting experience of actually using fire as a tool. And no better place than the arboretum here.
The Prescribed Fire Ecology and Implementation course is offered each spring and gives students hands-on experience with prescribed burns. In the class, students learn why prescribed fire is important for ecosystem health and how to safely carry out a controlled burn.
The course has 48 spots, and it fills quickly every year. During the semester, students work with volunteer instructors to complete at least three prescribed burns. By the end of the course, students earn their Firefighter Type II certification.
WEATHER REPORT:
- 74 degrees Fahrenheit
- 41% humidity
- 8 mph W wind
PACKING LIST:
- Boots
- Bandana
- Safety Glasses
- Jumpsuit
- Helmet
- Gloves
- AND LOTS OF WATER
Alex: So, we break them into six groups of eight here. And they all have kind of a mini unit so they get to do their own little burn. We have varying activities depending on the day and the week and the wind that they do. Kind of as little groups of eight or two lines of four.
Today’s burn is taking place at Curtis Prairie, just outside the UW Arboretum Visitor Center, where students are practicing suppression techniques and emergency response procedures.
Gabe (student): It’s really hot and I’ve inhaled so much smoke, like, the past two days. Well, my name is Gabe and I’m a wildlife ecology and botany major.
George (student): I’m George. I’m a wildlife ecology and environmental studies major.
Audrey (student): I’m Audrey. I’m a wildlife ecology major.
Gabe: Yeah, this is our first time, like, with the class burning out here. So, we did some of the breaks that are already here, and then I think we’re kinda, we’re burning like everything else between the breaks, I think. So yeah, this is our second day, but most of us have already done a burn outside of class.
Audrey: Today we’re working on fire suppression which is, instead of prescribing fire which is what this class is about, it’s suppressing fire. So, when fire gets out of control, we obviously need to contain it, so water is kind of the front line. They’re spraying out their back can and then behind them, we have someone with the flapper who’s stomping out any excess flames that are maybe a lower level. And then some people have a broom I think which kind of does a similar thing. Then raking is just kind of moving the fuel into a more efficient location where it can’t get out of control more basically.
George: So, I’m a huge bird nerd. Most of my favorite species are like the greater prairie chicken, Florida scrub jay, all these fire dependent species that we weren’t even aware of them being fire dependent until very recently. Purely because fire suppression was so normalized in the Americas for so long and only now are we kind of revisiting that Indigenous ecological knowledge that is allowing us to be more healthy with our landscapes today, especially in-peril landscapes such as grasslands and prairies and I personally wanted to be on the forefront of that kind of landscape management. I want to ensure that the generations to come have the same kind of grasslands and prairies and the birds that inhabit them that we have today.
Daniel (student): My name is Daniel Krause and I’m a conservation biology major with an environmental studies certificate. Basically, right now, you know, we’re just watching the fire. Well, what I’m doing is watching the fire and making sure it stays in our unit. If it gets out, I’ll have to use some of these hand tools here to put it back in or suppress it. The rest of my crew members here are practicing putting our spot fires, so, fires that exit your unit, an ember or something, and lights something that’s not near you. So, that’s what they’re doing. Obviously, they’re just doing a great job because we’ve got the best teachers in the game
I like that you can actually do stuff outside. There’s actual real-world experiences. Like, for example, we have to do three burns outside of the class, so it’s cool to get to work with other organizations. Get to go around and just meet people and burn in places, or go even to places you wouldn’t normally go. So that’s probably the best part about it. And I guess also that you come out with a firefighter type II certificate. So you can probably get a job afterwards maybe.
Alex: Every natural community in Wisconsin is fire dependent. From wetlands to woods. We talk about prairies a lot, but everything evolved and is adapted to fire and so if we want to be good stewards of the land and practice good conservation, in Wisconsin we need fire.
*Fire Crackling*
