Morris Arboretum Urban Forestry Consultants

03/20/2026

Spent the day supporting the Longwood Gardens Prescribed Burn Program—part of a broader effort to return fire to the landscapes that evolved with it. 🔥🌱
Longwood has been a pioneer in the reintroduction of fire to the landscape in our region, helping demonstrate how thoughtful, science-based application of fire can restore ecological processes and build resilience.
For too long, fire has been excluded from systems that depend on it. Reintroducing it—carefully and intentionally—helps recycle nutrients, open structure, and create the conditions these plant communities need to thrive.
Grateful to be back in the field and to support and learn alongside the Longwood team—thoughtful, safe, and purposeful fire in action.
This work is bigger than any single burn. It’s about rebuilding a relationship with fire and stewarding landscapes toward long-term resilience.

03/18/2026

Today we hosted Dr. Kevin Chase of the Bartlett Research Lab for a class on the looming threat of Beech Leaf Disease.

03/18/2026

Habitat bog pond update. Me and the dude are looking forward to native plantings this Spring. Also hoping for frogs to move in. So if you know any frogs looking for a home let them know about this new real estate.

03/14/2026

Teaching some old school forestry methods at my Fragment Forestry Class today.

03/11/2026

03/11/2026

Tied in with Longwood Gardens today for their prescribed fire burn planning meeting. Bringing my USFS experience from western fires to aid their team this spring and explore ways public gardens and institutions in SE Pennsylvania can collaborate on prescribed burns. 🔥🌿

03/08/2026

Building habitat on the home front with my main helper dude. Today we started our bog pond project, put deer protection around natural start saplings and fixed some bird boxes. Teach ‘em young!

03/06/2026

Today we visited the Tree Authority to select 150 trees for our Community Canopy Tree give away coming this May at Penn Park. Tree Authority utilizes grow bags to limit root binding which is a common occurrence in container grown material.

03/04/2026

🌳🔥 Field Visit at Mt. Cuba Center

Today I had the honor of visiting with Nate Shampine, Natural Lands Manager at Mt. Cuba Center, to walk several reforestation plots and discuss strategies for rebuilding resilient forest structure. We also reviewed areas that recently received upland oak prescribed burns, an important tool for restoring oak-dominated forests and promoting native biodiversity.

It’s always valuable to connect with practitioners doing outstanding ecological restoration work in our region.

MtCubaCenter MorrisArboretum

01/31/2026

Grateful for the chance to attend the Pennsylvania Prescribed Fire Council Conference this week up in State College. 🔥
So many great conversations, shared knowledge, and inspiration around using prescribed fire as a tool for healthy forests and resilient landscapes. Big thanks to everyone who shared their experience and passion—excited to keep learning and applying it in the field.

01/16/2026

Warming up in the Fernery.