March and April is spring wildfire season in Virginia. This is also the time when foresters do prescribed burns, to reduce fuel that could feed larger wildfires. Paula Whyman owns a 200-acre property in Rappahannock County, where she set out to do a prescribed burn on her property. She wanted to see if a small fire would help native plants grow. She writes about the experience, and others, in a book called “Bad Naturalist.”

Roxy Todd spoke with her about what went right, and what proved difficult, as she set out to re-wild a piece of the Blue Ridge Mountains.