Fire Recovery
Fire Recovery with Mountain Landcare
Capacity to Deliver - LP017-001
The issue
The Jingellic and Tumbarumba areas were severely impacted by the Dunns Road and Green Valley bushfires 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 their application for Landcare Australia's Bushfire Recovery grant. This funding will enable the community to engage with a common goal of kick starting bushland recovery through a variety of activities including revegetation of paddock trees and lost farm plantings, providing nest boxes to landowners and starting a wildlife recovery and monitoring program. This will involve installing cameras at six key sites to monitor what wildlife and feral animals are coming back into the landscape 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 devastating bushfires of January 2020 highlights the importance of having strong community networks in place to support communities feeling isolated and unsure of what to do next.
The strength of the Local Landcare groups in the Jingellic and Tumburumba areas meant that community members had a link to resources and a process for recovery that was specific to their needs.
Key facts
- The January 2020 decimated bushland in the Jingellic and Tumbarumba areas and left the community feeling isolated and under resourced.
- Landcare groups filled the gap between community and available resources.
- Bushfire recovery on ground is just as important as community recovery - this is a great example of how a small landcare group has been able to achieve this joint outcome.