Address: UC DAVIS PUTAH CREEK RIPARIAN RESERVE/ DAVIS

The Firelighters Test Plot:

The Firelighters is a group of undergraduate Environmental Design and Landscape Architecture students interested in bringing good fire to the landscape. Through the Firelighters internship, students complete wildland firefighter training and gain hands-on experience in both cultural and prescribed burning. 

We intend the Firelighters Test Plot to serve as a space for collaboration around fire, food and habitat revitalization. Along with being a place to explore the ecological and cultural benefits of fire, we hope this space will serve as a medium of connection for faculty, students, and Davis community members. 

Located on the UC Davis Putah Creek Riparian Reserve, the plot is situated in an upper-riparian grassland that currently consists of invasives like milk thistle, vetch, and shortpod mustard, with scattered natives that include narrowleaf milkweed and wild rye. The planting design features species that are traditional food sources for California native tribes. These plants are also foundational in California grassland ecosystems and serve as valuable habitat for insects, birds, wildlife and native pollinators. 

The Research: 

For the 2026-2027 academic year, the plot will be used to conduct research on the use of beneficial fire in cultivating edible California native plants. This Test Plot contains three separate research treatments: a control, burning, and a burning and native planting treatment. The project aims to transform the current landscape inundated with flammable invasives to California natives adapted to thrive and coexist with fire. 

About Affiliate Test Plots:

Affiliate Test Plots are independently organized sites connected through a shared interest in experimental landcare, habitat restoration, stewardship, and public learning. Affiliates join the Test Plot network for knowledge exchange and mutual support, including the sharing of methods, observations, questions, and outcomes over time. Participation is lightweight and voluntary, and may include periodic updates, site visits, workshops, or other forms of exchange between projects. The network is not a formal program, but an evolving set of relationships between sites exploring how land can be collectively studied, tended, and learned from.

Affiliate Test Plots are not managed, funded or fiscally sponsored by Test Plot, and retain full autonomy over their design, governance, and implementation.  Affiliate sites do not represent Test Plot organizationally or legally.