Zach Wood is the first Georgia Grasslands Coordinator for the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia*. He joined SGI and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in 2021. Zach’s expertise is in prescribed fire as a land management tool for endangered species, especially reptiles and amphibians, in the Coastal Plains ecoregion. His educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources Management from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Recently we sat down with Zach to learn a little more about him and his role at SGI.
Q: How did you get interested in nature and the outdoors?
I grew up in rural south Georgia and was pretty much always interested in nature and the outdoors. I started out as more of a “hook and bullet” person, in other words mostly interested in hunting and fishing. I actually went to college planning to be a game warden, but once I got to college my interests shifted somewhat as I began learning about nongame species. Nongame species, such as salamanders, weren’t something that I had ever really thought about growing up. As we learned about nongame species, I became really interested in them, especially the herps – the reptiles and amphibians. But, even though my specific interests shifted from game to nongame species, I was always interested in nature and the outdoors in general.
Q: How did you get interested in grasslands?
As I said, I really got interested in the nongame wildlife species when I was in college. And I learned that if you want to impact a species, then you have to manage for its habitat. Many of the imperiled species, and some of the ones I thought were really cool, were tied to grassland habitats. I was in south Georgia, which is part of the Coastal Plains, so we were mostly talking pine savannas, but grassland ecosystems nonetheless.
After discovering that, I dove headlong into habitat management, especially restoration habitat management. For example, I worked on a restoration project for indigo snakes, which also meant that there were gopher tortoises and all kinds of really cool frogs there. That was very much a fire driven habitat. I realized early on that I didn’t want to spend my career poking and prodding a couple hundred individuals. I wanted to make all those cool, rare species regular and the way to do that was to improve the habitat and the habitat happened to be grasslands. So I guess you can say the animals brought me to the grasslands and that’s where I’ve stayed.
Q: What did you do prior to coming to the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia?
When I was in college, I took a semester off to work at the indigo snake preserve and while there I got prescribed fire training and over 50 days of burn experience. That really launched my prescribed fire career. After college, I worked several jobs in Georgia and South Carolina, all focused on habitat management for nongame species, especially herps (reptiles and amphibians) and red-cockaded woodpeckers. Fire is a strong component of those habitats, so I’ve created a very niche career as a prescribed fire practitioner.
Q: What is your role with the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia?
I do a variety of different things. One of my primary roles is to work with land managers and agencies who have an interest in something related to grasslands, whether that is an animal or a plant or the ecosystem as a whole. I try to help them by facilitating the necessary habitat management. I may do consultations or give advice or if it's something I can’t do, then I try to put them in contact with someone who can help them. I do a lot of connecting people with people – I believe that’s an important part of my job.
Since my position is affiliated with the University of Georgia, Athens, education is another one of my primary roles. Every semester I work with a number of college students doing experiential learning where the class is learning by doing. I also help mentor other students through semester-long hands-on experiences. I believe that hands-on learning and in-the-field job experiences are just as valuable as what you learn in the classroom. I always tell the students I work with that field skills are invaluable and the best way to develop those field skills is to get as much on-the-ground, in-the-field experience as possible.
Q: What are you most excited about when it comes to working with the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia?
Everyone goes to the mountains, walks to the edge of a cliff, and has this breathtaking moment as they stare out at the view. I don’t know what caused the switch in my mind, but at some point, I came to the realization that we can have that same moment if we just look down at the plants around our feet. The world is a pretty awesome place, if we take the time to see and appreciate it.
We have records showing that the land we stand on now looks very different from the way it used to look, even just 200 years ago. I’m lucky in that I get to go to some really unique places and see some really rare plants and animals. I want to be able to share those experiences with people, but I can’t take everyone to all those rare places.
The only way I know to share those experiences and let everyone be able to see those plants and ecosystems is to make the rare plants more common and available in more accessible places. By recreating grasslands where people can go and see what a prairie in this region might have looked like, we’re giving them the opportunity to see and appreciate the plants and the whole ecological aspect of the grasslands. I’m excited to be a part of that.
Q: What are some of your hobbies?
I like to run. My newest hobby is gardening. I started with cut flowers, oddly enough, and then moved into vegetables and native plants as well. I also enjoy reading.
* Zach’s position is a joint position between the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative and the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. The Southeastern Grasslands Initiative is a grasslands-focused research, conservation, and education branch of Austin Peay State University’s Center of Excellence for Field Biology. The State Botanical Garden of Georgia is a unit of Public Service and Outreach at the University of Georgia.
SHANNON TRIMBOLI, INTERIM DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Shannon helps the Southeastern Grasslands Initiative tell the forgotten and untold stories of our Southeastern grasslands.