Grayslake students watch and learn about prairie fires

Prairie Crossing Charter School students watched flames rise Wednesday as they learned about prescribed burns on prairie land near the Grayslake school.

A group of about 80 kids in fifth and sixth grades learned about the environmental benefits from members of the Prairie Crossing Environment Management Team, which conducted the burn.

"The reason we're doing it is because this is a fire-dependent community, the prairie is. After we burn, we will have more seed production, more flowers will bloom and the prairie will be revived and restored," said Jim O'Connor, leader of the burn group.

Most of the 6-member team are homeowners from the community and all have fire training, O'Connor said.

An annual event for the school, it is part of the students' studies of biomes and the environment that looks at prairies, grasslands and the natural history of Illinois, according to sixth grade math and science teacher Michael Hershiser.

Because of higher-than-normal winds, students were not allowed to participate in helping with the burn as they had in previous years.

"The first time I saw it, I was at the school playground and I liked it ever since. I really just like seeing the huge flames," said sixth-grader Griffin Fox. "People think it's bad for the environment but really prairies are better for the environment than a whole forest because they store more carbon underneath the ground."