Old fire practices rekindled as Aboriginal communities collaborate with Forestry Corporation

ABORIGINAL communities across the NSW North Coast are working with Forestry Corporation of NSW to integrate cultural burning into government bushfire management frameworks.

These local partnerships, under the Federal Government-funded Fire, Country and People program, aim to strengthen community resilience to major bushfire events and improve land management practices across traditional Aboriginal lands.

As part of this initiative, members of the Western Bundjalung, Yaegl, Gumbaynggirr, Bunyah and Birpai communities have attended fire training sessions at Jubullum, Grafton and Port Macquarie over the past year.

This has occurred under partnerships with the Western Bundjalung community’s Ngullingah Jugun Aboriginal Corporation, the Yaegl Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, Coffs Harbour Aboriginal Land Council, the Birpai Local Aboriginal Land Council and the Bunyah Local Aboriginal Land Council.

Delivered by fire training specialists Fireground, the training has provided accredited firefighting qualifications to members of the Northern Rivers, Clarence Valley, Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie/Hastings Aboriginal communities.

The program equips participants with essential firefighting skills and fosters collaboration between Aboriginal communities and government agencies, combining traditional cultural burning methods with modern firefighting techniques.

Forestry Corporation’s Aboriginal Heritage and Partnerships Manager, John Shipp said, “This program creates an opportunity for… communities to work with government agencies to develop a path forward for effective and sustainable bushfire management, combining traditional cultural burning with modern firefighting techniques.

“This will improve the resilience of the community to major bushfires.

“The use of fire in the environment is only one aspect of the community’s land management experience, which has existed for more than sixty thousand years and importantly this program equips participants with essential firefighting skills and qualifications for future careers in firefighting,” he said.

The Fire, Country and People project will include a research component to build a scientific evidence base around cultural burning, investigating its impact on bushfire intensity and spread.

This approach supports the integration of Indigenous knowledge into broader fire management frameworks, contributing to sustainable and culturally informed land stewardship.

The Fire, Country and People project is a three-year $3-million program funded by the Australian Government and jointly supported by Forestry Corporation.