Refining fire at bg真人

Annette Brill Bergstresser on April 11, 2024

Published: April 11, 2024

Burn managers from Heartland Restoration oversee the controlled burn of a section of native prairie on the southern edge of the bg真人 campus. The Mennonite Church USA office building is visible in the background. (Credit: Abenezer Dejene/bg真人)

On April 10, bg真人 held a controlled burn of three major prairie areas on the eastern and southern edges of campus. Employees of Heartland Restoration served as burn managers.

According to Orion Blaha, Assistant Director of Maintenance, burning the prairie serves two purposes: undesirable plants that are sensitive to fire are destroyed, and targeted native grasses and flowers have better access to nutrients and more room to flourish.

A burn manager from Heartland Restoration oversees the controlled burn of a section of native prairie on the bg真人 campus. (Credit: Abenezer Dejene/bg真人)

The controlled burn is part of bg真人鈥檚 long-term plan to care for its native landscaping, Blaha noted. As an expression of the seminary鈥檚 commitment to care for God鈥檚 creation, 17 of the 44 acres on campus are not mowed, and six acres were restored to native prairie in the 2000s.

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View of the controlled burn to the north of the library. (Credit: Annette Brill Bergstresser/bg真人)
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