Fire can be destructive, yet it also plays a crucial role in maintaining and restoring prairie land, including Knox College's Green Oaks Biological Field Station. That's why Knox Professor Stuart Allison led a squad of about a dozen students as they recently conducted the 2015 Prairie Burn at Green Oaks' South Prairie.

Allison, a professor of biology and director of Green Oaks, worked with the students earlier to educate them about safe burning practices. On Saturday, April 4, they were issued fire-resistant clothes, gloves, and other gear -- including a long-handled tool called a "flapper," which is used to tamp down flames and burning embers.

Emily Roberts ‘16 and Nick Liberko ‘16, who participated in Green Oaks Term during the 2014-15 academic year, returned to Green Oaks to help with the prairie burn.

Roberts said she participated in Green Oaks Term "because I wanted to develop a better relationship with the natural world." The prairie burn, she added, is "an opportunity for students to get to know Green Oaks better."

Liberko said the controlled burn "is essential to keep the land a prairie." In addition, he said, it provides "an opportunity for students to learn about prairie restoration and controlled fire."

Above, snapshots from the 2015 Green Oaks Prairie Burn; more photos from the burn at the Knox College Flickr site.

Controlled burns at the Green Oaks property are a Knox College tradition, and one section of prairie typically gets burned each spring. According to Allison, a three-year rotation for each prairie area works best to encourage diverse plant and animal life.

Green Oaks is home to more than 130 species of native prairie plants, and the property also includes a variety of wildlife, such as deer, foxes, frogs, and woodpeckers.