Camila Buitrago

Camila Buitrago (BS ’22) is moving into ecological design, and she already has a working prototype to show for it. During a summer internship with UC Davis and the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, she developed Phoenix Eggs: fire-activated ceramic seed pods containing native seeds and biochar that are designed to open after exposure to fire, supporting regeneration and soil health. Her Chang Prize project aims to take the eggs from that early prototype to a field-tested restoration tool.

Over the coming year, Camila will refine the design through thermal simulation, seed-germination testing, and material experiments that balance durability against a controlled, fire-triggered break. She will complete wildland firefighter training so she can participate in testing the eggs during prescribed burns, working alongside burn crews, land managers, and Indigenous fire practitioners, including potential collaborators at the Cache Creek Conservancy’s Tending and Gathering Garden.

Her goal is a low-cost, low-waste tool that helps fire-adapted ecosystems recover their native plant communities after increasingly severe wildfires. By the project’s end, Camila plans to establish a small-scale manufacturing process and distribute roughly 500 eggs through conservation partners in Northern California. The work has already drawn interest: the eggs were shown at the Forest Hope Through Innovation exhibition at the World Forestry Center, and Camila is in talks to develop the project further with the Morphing Matter Lab at UC Berkeley.