Longleaf Pine Career Panel
Fire is essential to longleaf pine!
Join members of the NC Prescribed Fire Council to learn more about the role that fire plays in the forest and the people working to put fire in the forest.
Meet the conservationists, firefighters, scientists, naturalists and more who work in longleaf! Pick their brain about how they got their start in their careers, what they love about their job the most and what they’ve recently been working on.
Panel discussion will be moderated by Council President Jennifer Fawcett, NCSU Extension Associate.
This panel features:
Thomas Crate, NC State Parks
Carla Freeman, NC Forest Service
Travis Kornegay, NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Scott Pohlman, NC Natural Heritage Program
Carmella Stirrat, The Nature Conservancy
Dr. Joseph Wilkins, University of Washington
The Pulaski Club
Dobyns-Bennett High School
Kingsport, TN
Bryan Kerns is a Math Teacher who founded the Pulaski Club. He is an 18-year veteran firefighter who spent 2 years with the USFS and now serves part-time with the VA Department of Forestry.
Join Bryan as he shares how the club began, how to engage the barriers to this unique concept and the experiences high-schoolers are walking away with.
Click below to watch our talk!
Fire, Tree Rings & Longleaf
Monica Rother, UNCW
Have you ever wondered why some tree rings grow close together while others are spaced a part? Tree rings tell the story of the past. Researchers use tree rings to learn about past environments. For example, tree rings can reveal past patterns of temperatures and rainfall. Tree rings can also be used to uncover the history of fire in forested ecosystems, including in our longleaf pinelands.
Join Dr. Monica Rother of the Dept. of Environmental Sciences in an exploration of how dendrochronology (tree-ring science) can reveal the historical pattern of fire on a landscape, extending hundreds of years into the past.
Jumpstart: the Future of Gopher Frogs
Morgan Freese, NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher
Tadpoles need water, but this frog needs fire! Join N.C. Aquariums educator Morgan Freese to discover the uniquely fire-dependent lives of Carolina gopher frogs, one of the most endangered amphibians in the state. In this presentation, meet a gopher frog that lives at the Aquarium and learn what conservationists are doing to protect these frogs for future generations.
Morgan shares the wonder of aquatic animals over the internet as the Virtual Programs Coordinator at the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher. Her previous environmental educator experience includes working as an outdoor nature camp counselor. She grew to love the longleaf pine forest while working as an educator at Halyburton Park.