The Western Bundjalung community’s Ngullingah Jugun Aboriginal Corporation is working with Forestry Corporation to bring together knowledge of cultural burning with government bushfire management.
A fire training camp has been held in Jubullum Village, near Tabulam, made possible through Fire, Country and People, a three-year Australian Government-funded project.
Fire and incident management specialists Fireground provided the accredited firefighting training to members of the Western Bundjalung community.
Forestry Corporation’s Aboriginal Heritage and Partnerships Manager John Shipp said the fire training will improve both the community and government response to wildfires.
“This program creates an opportunity for the Jubullum community to work with government agencies to develop a path forward for effective and sustainable bushfire management,” Mr Shipp said.
“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 sixty-odd thousand years,” he said.
Ngullingah Jugun Aboriginal Corporation CEO Ryan Walker said the training will better prepare the Western Bundjalung community to respond to bushfires with firefighting agencies.
“Having 20 accredited firefighters in our community will build on our capacity to fight fires alongside government agencies, create work opportunities locally and give our people the ability to better prepare for bushfire emergencies,” Mr Walker said.
“Having government agencies listen to our community on fire management and take on board our approach to managing the environment will help our community to avoid bushfires in the future,” he said.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Jenny McAllister said this partnership integrates traditional knowledge with contemporary fire management practices to protect our communities.
“The Albanese Government is partnering with state governments and communities to enhance local resilience across the country,” Minister McAllister said.
Fire, Country and People will also help to build the scientific evidence base behind cultural burning.
A research program will look to understand the effect that traditional Aboriginal fire practices have on the intensity and extent of bushfires.
The $2,957,632 Fire, Country and People: Aboriginal Community Disaster Ready Project has received funding from the Australian Government’s Disaster Ready Fund and is jointly funded by Forestry Corporation.
