Works > Hedge Fire Circle

Hedge Fire Circle was built in 2012 for the Land Institute’s Prairie Festival in Salina, Kansas. The sixty foot diameter circle of hedge (Maclura pomifera) branches surrounds the traditional bonfire site for the Prairie Festival.

The branches were harvested on the grounds of the Land Institute, installed in post holes six feet on center, intertwined, and screwed together where possible.

Hedge posts (commonly used for fences before steel t-posts came into use) last for decades, so while smaller branches may deteriorate, Hedge Fire Circle is expected to last for seventy-five years.

Hedge Fire Circle and the Friday evening fire is a major attraction at the Prairie Festival - fire, sky, earth, and people.