Fire Recovery
Fire Recovery with Mountain Landcare
Collaborations - NSWLP-017 #1
The issue
The Jingellic and Tumbarumba areas were severely impacted by the Dunns Road and Green Valley bush fires in January 2020. The devastation to bushland and properties left people feeling helpless and unsure of what resources were available to aid in bushland and native animal recovery. The general community were not sure where to source fire recovery information. Holbrook Landcare was able to support Mountain Landcare and its members, helping them to focus on what fire recovery might look like.
The solution
Holbrook Landcare staff were able to support Mountain Landcare to source funding for fire recovery and were successful in our application for Landcare Australia's Bushfire recovery grant. This funding will enable the community to engage with a common goal to kick start bushland recovery through a variety of activities including revegetation of paddock trees and lost farm plantings, provide nest boxes to land owners and start a wildlife recovery and monitoring program. This will involve installing cameras at six key sites to monitor what wildlife and feral animals are around over the next six months.
The impact
The devastating impact of the January fires highlighted the strength and relevance of community groups. Having established networks in place enabled immediate response and support for community members that may otherwise have been isolated and disconnected from the resources being made available to them. It also gave these people a voice that was heard and direction for the recovery process moving forward. And while the project is about bush fire recovery on ground, its also just as much about connecting people with a common goal, providing support for communities to recover together.
Learnings
The experience of going through a natural disaster highlighted the importance of strong local networks and the role they play in helping connect people to available resources, helping provide a focus in a time when the community may struggle to do this on their own, and watching the outcome of people supporting one another through a common goal that has a community engagement component. What works is having strong local networks in place to begin with.
Key facts
- The Dunns Road and Green Valley bushfires in January 2020 had a devastating impact on the landscape and the communities living in the area.
- Holbrook Landcare Network provided support and resources for Mountain Landcare and the community to engage in fire recovery activities.
- Engaging the community to source fire recovery information and proceed with planning provided direction to people devastated by the recent fires.
- This process provided focus for communities to monitor the on ground changes and an opportunity for people to connect and recover together.