MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Meridian Township initiated a controlled burn yesterday in attempt to restore wildlife and support local ecosystems.

Workers burned twenty acres of land at the Davis/Foster Land Preserve on Van Atta Road.

The burn will help stimulate native plants to grow and kill off invasive species.

Dave Borneman LLC and PlantWise LLC were hired to conduct the burns.

Nick Sanchez, Assistant Park Naturalist for Meridian Township, says the burns will benefit local ecosystems greatly.

"What the burn is going to do is kind of knock back one of these areas, knock the vegetation all the way to the ground to kind of rejuvenate the native plants and the warm, seasoned grasses that are in there," said Sanchez.

The burn was done in a slow and deliberate manner with safety equipment on hand to monitor and control its spread, as well as minimizing the amount of smoke produced.

There is another prescribed burn scheduled for Ingham County's Lake Lansing Park North in the next few weeks.