Park Creek Elementary School Takes a Step Toward Sustainability with Controlled Burn to Restore Local Ecosystem

Park Creek Elementary School in Dalton recently took an important step toward sustainability. The school conducted a controlled burn in part of its pollinator garden, marking a significant part of its ongoing efforts to restore the local ecosystem.

What we’re doing is burning some of the wood and brush in the area to allow native grasses and flowers to come back because they respond well to fire. A lot of this was triggered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who sponsored this project. They identified an endangered species in this tributary, the tri-spot darter, a small fish that breeds in this tributary feeding into Mill Creek. They’ve been doing a lot of different things here to restore the habitat,” said Brady Underwood with Coossa Ecological.

The principal of Park Creek Elementary emphasizes that initiatives like this are not only crucial for the environment but also provide valuable educational opportunities for students.

And we’ll be able to use that as an educational tool for our kids and the community, showing them how this area has now been restored to a more natural state. The fire will help us achieve that,” said Brandon Headrick principal of Park Creek Elementary.

With projects like this, Park Creek Elementary continues to demonstrate how education can be a powerful tool for environmental change.