First Annual Savannah River Fire Festival
October 15, 2021
Fun for the Whole Family
The first annual Savannah River Fire Festival was held in October 2021 at the Mary Kahrs Warnell Forest Education Center in Effingham County, Georgia. Hosted by the Longleaf Alliance and partners, it was a huge success.
The festival was a fun day jam-packed with outdoor activities for approximately 200 attendees, including a live burn demonstration, meet and greets with Burner Bob®, guided nature hikes with Georgia DNR biologists, gopher tortoise burrow explorations, delicious food trucks, and nature-themed face painting.
Families and kids learned about natural resource conservation efforts in the Southeast and why prescribed fire is beneficial to people, forests, and wildlife. The festival even made the local Savannah news!
Jon Burns, the Georgia House of Representatives Majority Leader, discussed the importance of forestry in the state and the role of prescribed fire. Photo by Susan French.
Meeting a gopher tortoise. Photo by Karen Zilliox Brown.
Visitors take a peak inside a gopher tortoise burrow. Photo by Karen Zilliox Brown.
Kids had a blast getting fun, colorful wildlife and forestry face painting designs. Photo by Susan French.
Thanks to The Orianne Society, visitors had the chance to meet several animals native to longleaf habitats. Photo by Lisa Lord.
Burner Bob® meets a new friend. Photo by Lisa Lord.