UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Long before European settlers established colonies in Australia and the Americas, indigenous peoples regularly set fire to landscapes for hunting, agricultural and cultural purposes. These fires played a role in preventing the megafires seen today. Rebecca Bliege Bird, professor of anthropology at Penn State, will deliver a talk titled "Indigenous fire regimes and their ecosystem services under climate change" at 4 p.m. Monday, Sept. 27. The talk, which is free and open to the public, takes place via Zoom.
Bird’s talk is part of the fall 2021 EESI EarthTalks series, “Fire in the Earth System.” The series addresses humanity’s long relationship with fire, how humans and climate create conditions conducive to megafires, and how policy makers and land managers can address the fire problem. For more information about the fall 2021 series, visit the EarthTalks web page.
The fall 2021 EESI EarthTalks series is supported by Penn State’s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute.