Cultural burning events bring communities together on Country
Two cultural burns at Gunnedah and Terry Hie Hie have sparked important milestones for the ‘Cool Burning for Culture and Ecological Knowledge’ project, focused on benefitting the White Box–Yellow Box–Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland and Derived Native Grassland critically endangered ecological community in North West NSW.
This project is funded by the Australian Government Natural Heritage Trust and delivered by North West Local Land Services, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel.
North West Local Land Services implemented these burns in partnership with the local Aboriginal community and other stakeholders. The project aims to improve the ecological understanding of the relationship between the ecological community and cultural burning practices while also providing valuable opportunities for people to spend time on Country. By gaining a better understanding of how the ecological community responds to fire, government agencies, private landholders and Aboriginal communities will be better able to manage and preserve native vegetation across the region.
Aboriginal community members, school students and the wider community joined North West Local Land Services in partnership with Red Chief Local Aboriginal Land Council and Moree Local Aboriginal Land Council to participate in cultural burns at the Gunnedah Resource Centre and Berrigal Reserve at Terry Hie Hie on Tuesday 6 May and Tuesday 17 June.
Both burns drew impressive crowds with more than 90 people attending in total, fostering a vital connection to Country and learning about biodiversity. The NSW Rural Fire Service also played a crucial role, with their Aboriginal mitigation crew and broader team assisting on both days and contributing to the careful planning of the burns.
Angus McIntosh, Land Services Officer, North West Local Land Services, said, ‘Our focus is to use the findings to help manage and protect these delicate ecosystems, which will benefit present and future generations.’
Wally Hammond, Cultural Broker, North West Local Land Services, said it has been great to see such enthusiasm for the project from the participating Aboriginal organisations. ‘These organisations already do such important work in protecting cultural sites across the North West so it is fantastic to be able to collaborate on an exciting project like this.’
Learn more about the Cool burning for Culture and ecological knowledge project.
Media Contact
For more information, please contact Camilla Parry, Regional Communications Advisor, North West & Northern Tablelands, email camilla.parry@lls.nsw.gov.au or phone 0448 234 761.