Heartland Aflame: A Notre Dame professor unearths the mysteries and the lessons of native grasslands
The flames are bright orange and stretch two stories high as they snap at the cool March air above Little Bluestem Farm. Here, outside Goshen, Indiana, all was clear and silent just moments ago. Now the shoulder-high grass disappears into the fire with a roar. A smear of smoke the color of cast iron rises and rakes itself across the horizon.
In the midst of the blaze, through the shimmering haze of heat visible in his yellow flame-resistant jacket, is Ryan Sensenig. Sensenig is a grassland ecologist at the University of Notre Dame. A professor of the practice in Biological Sciences, he also serves as a faculty affiliate for the Environmental Change Initiative (ECI). With quick strides, Sensenig releases fresh flames from his handheld drip torch. Then he calls out directions to the team of students working at the edges of the field.
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