The leafy bushes that tower over Toronto’s Excessive Park are one of many final remaining black oak ecosystems in Ontario.
They’re uncommon, so every year, fireplace specialists rigorously set fires close to their roots, in a managed perimeter — burning off the dry grass, leaves and twigs.
Smoke billows above the bushes, drifting via components of the park earlier than dissipating. The flames linger the place they’re set, turning the underbrush to ash.
The normal and prescribed burns in Excessive Park have gone on for 20 years, named Biinaakzigewok Anishnaabeg by the Indigenous Land Stewardship Circle that collaborates with the Metropolis of Toronto on the present-day rendition of what was a longstanding Indigenous follow.
Whereas colonial guidelines in Canada lengthy banned the normal fireplace practices of Indigenous communities, that’s been shifting, with extra use of prescribed burning not only for wildfire safety however ecosystem well being.
Renny Grilz is a useful resource administration officer for the Meewasin Valley Authority, a conservation group in Saskatoon that makes use of prescribed fires out and in of metropolis limits.
“Part of conservation for, you know, the last 30 years was ‘Set it aside, nature will look after itself,’” mentioned Grilz.
“We’re realizing that no, we need to manage these landscapes.”
The low fireplace at Excessive Park burns via dry grasses and twigs, but in addition helps maintain invasive species at bay. (Hayley Reid-Ginis/CBC)
Fireplace as a software in city areas
The concept of a prescribed burn is to make use of a quick, low fireplace alongside floor stage.
Introducing fireplace to an ecosystem helps skinny the forest of gas, which may embody issues like leaf litter, sticks, and lifeless crops. In Excessive Park, this offers fire-resistant species like black oak the house to thrive by burning again invasive species and permitting extra air, vitamins and daylight to succeed in them.
In March of this 12 months, the Metropolis of Edmonton carried out its first prescribed burn inside metropolis limits, to cut back wildfire threat.
However conducting a prescribed burn in an city space comes with dangers.
“You have high value assets surrounding the area that you want to burn, but also smoke management becomes very critical,” mentioned Grilz.
Winnipeg has been conducting prescribed burns because the Eighties, for instance, however Grilz says that different city areas like Calgary, Regina and Moose Jaw, Sask., have expressed curiosity in prescribed fires, too.
“As they [urban areas] advance their skill sets or knowledge base within these urban areas and their planning areas, they’re starting to look at fire as a management tool,” Grilz instructed CBC.
“It’s really exciting.”
Crews conduct a prescribed burn at Donna Birkmaier Park in Saskatoon on April 24. (Meewasin Valley Authority)
Serving to native crops
In densely populated Southern Ontario, tallgrass habitats have a crucial position, however they’re at risk. They supply habitats for ground-dwelling birds like bobolinks and Japanese meadowlarks, each protected species in Canada.
“Tallgrass communities have been drastically reduced, like less than one per cent of what originally was in southern Ontario remains as native tallgrass. So we’re trying to bring that community back,” mentioned Adam Brylowski, supervisor of conservation and path on the Bruce Path Conservancy, a non-profit group that manages land alongside the Niagara Escarpment UNESCO World Biosphere.
The Bruce Path Conservancy takes on ecological restoration initiatives, leaning closely on planting bushes and wildflowers up to now, in response to Brylowski.
In 2019, they acknowledged the significance of tallgrass prairie restoration, too. After planning and making ready a website, the Bruce Path Conservancy carried out their first prescribed burn in 2022.
The Bruce Path Conservancy carried out a managed burn at Fisher’s Pond in 2023. (Bruce path Conservancy)
The native grasses want fireplace for his or her seeds to germinate, however it will probably kill off invasive species like Kentucky bluegrass and crested wheatgrass.
The Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG), spanning some 800 hectares alongside the shores of Lake Ontario between Burlington and Hamilton, additionally makes use of prescribed burns.
The RBG has carried out burns at totally different websites since 1997, although they don’t do them yearly.
This 12 months, the aim was to enhance uncommon plant habitat, in response to a public discover. This contains huge bluestem and goldenrods, each native species in tallgrass prairie ecosystems.
