Dr. Lytton Musselman: Blackwater Ecological Preserve

As the manager of the Blackwater Ecological Preserve and a professor at Old Dominion University, Dr. Lytton Musselman gets the opportunity to teach his students about the abundance of different native plant communities. 

“I love the area, and I think it's part of the heritage of people in this area. The local people...don't realize that this tree - this longleaf - was actually the tree that built Tidewater.”

Dr. Lytton prides himself on sparking new interest in plants in his students. 

“I love seeing how students who have never been in the outdoors are suddenly turned on to the diversity and the functioning. It's just absolutely intriguing.”

The longleaf pine is a unique community to maintain, because of its dependence on controlled fires. 

“You can't maintain the community without fire. Because if it didn't burn here, over time, the longleaf would be gone because it would be shaded out...It's fire-dependent.”

Dr. Lytton is thankful for the way he was raised because it imbued a sense of adventure in him that led to working with the Ecological Preserve. 

“Nowadays, parents are afraid to let their kids go out in the woods...I wasn't brought up that way...so [I have] sort of a sense of exploration and discovery.”

A film by Josh Wingard.

Produced by Kendahl Huber.