Florida International University
IN-2: Innovation 2

One historical and innovative practice for FIU took place March 2016 with FIU's first prescribed burn. This best land management practice is critical for the survival of globally imperilled pine rockland ecosystems and FIU is the only known university to have had this service. The 1 acre of Pine Rockland centered in FIU's Nature Preserve benefited from the campaigning and cooperation of numerous experts, staff, faculty, and students. Ultimately, with the approval from administration, the Florida Forest Service and Florida Native Plant Society granted the funding to conduct the prescribed burn, pre and post educational and awareness workshops and materials, and restoration materials for planting in the near future.

Positive measurable outcomes include the number of individuals from the local and university community who participated in the pre-burn educational awareness workshops led by the Florida Forest Service who now understand the reasons and benefits of prescribing a burn. We were also able to have the event documented with photos and video that increase positive public perception to such events. Several students have taken this opportunity to conduct research on effects of fire on soil, biodiversity, etc. Hundreds of Nature Preserve visitors have witnessed the before and after and been given educational tours, participated in the preparation and restoration of our pine rockland. The burn also significantly reduce the amount of resources our department would need to use in manually removing invasive species. We are looking forward to other positive measurable outcomes such as increased numbers of native flora and fauna and increases in pine rockland and prescribed burn literacy.