Year of Fire!

ecoEXPLORE at Jockey's Ridge
As we head into the new year, North Carolina State Parks says goodbye to the Year of the Snake and welcomes the Year of Fire.   We hope that everyone had the opportunity to attend one of our snake programs and learn something new.  Our snakes are beautiful special creatures that deserve respect.  We will continue to have programming on snakes occasionally so if you missed out, there will be some more opportunities.

This year we are working with North Carolina Forestry to help us with our fire programming.  We will have several community days focusing on fire.   One will include an opportunity to watch a small prescribed burn take place near the visitor center. Look for more details coming soon.

Many of our community outreach programs will be built around our theme so if you see us at Kids Fest or Outdoor Day you will have an opportunity to learn about prescribed fire in State Parks. In addition, the Friends group is helping the park purchase three portable fire rings to teach kids about fire while making S’mores. (How can you go wrong with chocolate and marshmallows?)  We will also be developing new evening programs and events showcasing night sky observations and other programs using our new fire pits.

Fire is part of our natural system and for many species it is required for them to reproduce.   Some pine trees have serotinous cones that only open and release seeds when subjected to heat.   Some plants need fire to make openings in the canopy and vegetation to allow sunlight to reach the forest floor.  Prescribed Fire has wonderful benefits such as reducing non-native plants, ticks and the amount of leaf litter on the canopy floor which can prevent larger, more dangerous fires from occurring.

Keep an eye out for the list of upcoming programs and special events focusing on fire this year and have a wonderful start to 2020.

—Joy Greenwood, Superintendent, Jockey’s Ridge State Park