Maplewood Richmond Heights has advised its neighbors that a controlled burn is taking place near the school.
From the school:
Dear Maplewood Richmond Heights Middle School Neighbor,
The Maplewood Richmond Heights School District is fortunate to have a Missouri native rain garden near Maplewood City Hall on the high school/middle school campus. The rain garden is located between the City Hall parking lot and the MRH sports field along Manchester Road and features a variety of native Missouri wildflowers and grasses that attract many birds and butterflies.
An important component of maintaining a healthy native prairie includes removing non-native, invasive plants and conducting periodic prescribed or “controlled” burns. Historically, prairies regularly experienced fire through both human and natural causes and native plants became fire tolerant. Today, controlled burns return vital nutrients to the soil and increase native seed germination. They also assist with controlling non-native species.
Maplewood Richmond Heights has been issued a permit by the County of St Louis to conduct a controlled burn of the MRH prairie rain garden following Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) guidelines.
A controlled burn is scheduled for April 10, 2018. Weather permitting, we will try to burn on the following dates, starting no earlier than the indicated times:
- Tuesday, April 10 at 12:30 or after
- Wednesday, April 11 at 12:30 or after
- Thursday, April 12 at 1:00 or after
The burn will last no longer than 2 hours.
It will be conducted by a MDC trained Burn Boss working with district personnel in conjunction with the Maplewood Fire Department. Many safety precautions will be implemented including closing adjacent parking areas and using burn techniques to slow the fire and reduce smoke. There may be some smoke visible during and some lingering odor following the controlled burn.
Many factors contribute to conducting a controlled burn including specific atmospheric, weather and soil conditions. It is possible for the 2018 window to expire without holding a controlled burn if the correct conditions are not present.
My yard, with the type of grass that I have should be controlled burned, which is better than thatching. I’m a citizen. Can they also do my yard?
Very good. Controlled burns are safety actions and young people benefit from first hand exposure.