1.
What are the central points of the piece, and how do they relate to what we’re engaging in
this class?
2.
How do themes and ideas from this piece relate to things you’re learning in and out of the
classroom at UC Berkeley?
3.
What questions do you have about the material, or what would you like to know more about?
Essay: Bay Nature Piece by Dr. Don Hankins
This essay revolves around Professor Don Hankins and his work with fire and how it affects lands, ecosystems, and cultures. Professor Hankins highlights how early societies viewed fire as a threat and danger to their land, but grew to utilize fire and create cultures that revolved around fire stewardship. Decades later, the California wildfires put modern day societies back in the mindset of early societies, viewing fire as a danger to civilizations and ways of living. This is because burning was suppressed by various laws put in place by foreign settlers, putting a harmful reputation on fire. However, groups all over the world are now circling back to their ancestors to learn about how Indigenous people care for their land through burning.
Additionally, Professor Hankins goes into how different types of ecosystems respond to fire. Starting with chaparral ecosystems, Hankins highlights how plants burn easily, but do not ignite easily. He then goes onto oak woodlands and grasslands, sharing how they experience frequent fires, and how it is difficult to maintain native species in these areas through burning. Lastly, mixed conifer and redwoods are described as experiencing less intense fires every decade or so. Although infrequent, fires in forest ecosystems help destroy diseased and young trees. Throughout the essay, Hankins also shares stories of his burning experiences, observing various techniques used in different areas, along with their challenges and successes. Overall, “Reading the Landscape for Fire” highlights the importance of burning in order to maintain healthy ecosystems, and how indigenous societies have gathered knowledge throughout numerous years to burn effectively. This essay relates to what we’re engaging in this class because it talks about the effects of conservation efforts on various habitats. Although it does not cover fish or marine ecosystems, forest practices are brought up, which is a part of our class studies. Moreover, this connects to events outside of the classroom firstly because I live in California and we are prone to wildfires. We view these fires as threats to our society, but we never really learned in class how they are used to tend to land and benefit ecosystems. Overall, it was insightful to learn about the practices
that keep our planet healthy in order for us to be able to benefit from what Mother Nature provides us.
I would love to learn more about how this type of controlled burning affects wild animals living in the ecosystems, and how measures are taken to prevent harm to these animals. It was
