Fire is a critical land management tool in Florida that encourages the growth of new plants, promotes seed distribution, and, critically, reduces accumulated plant matter that could fuel a wildfire. The Garden began a prescribed burn program in 2023 and successfully completed three. Safety precautions include the creation of firebreaks to contain the blaze to its designated area and the removal of vines and low-growing branches to keep the fire from climbing into the canopy. A certified burn manager, his team, and other regional conservation partners join our fire-certified staff in conducting this operation.
Read more about prescribed burns at the Garden
Blazes Spark New Life in Preserve
Garden conservationists and FGCU students track surge in key species following prescribed burn Fire used to be a natural phenomenon in our landscape—during the first storms of summer, lightning strikes […]
Documenting a Prescribed Burn
Being Naples Botanical Garden’s staff photographer and videographer is a dream job. I get to do a lot of different stuff, including chronicling Garden staff’s wide-ranging projects, taking portraits of […]
Regeneration Through a Prescribed Fire
As you walk along the lake trail or the wooded pathways near the Sönne Family Ghost Orchid Boardwalk, you’ll come across a charred patch of forest, which will probably spark […]
Igniting a Flame
Director of Natural Resources Eric Foht explains how fire sparks nature’s renewal and why we should appreciate this elemental process. I looked up at the rising column of smoke and […]
