2018 National Indigenous Fire Workshop

Bundanon Trust and the local Mudjingaalbaraga Firesticks team hosted the 2018 National Indigenous Fire Workshop, with support from Shoalhaven Landcare Association

2018 National Indigenous Fire Workshop

Bundanon Trust and the local Mudjingaalbaraga Firesticks team hosted the 2018 National Indigenous Fire Workshop, with support from Shoalhaven Landcare Association

Stronger Together -

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The issue

The Shoalhaven’s Indigenous community has limited opportunities to learn and practice traditional land management skills. Learning and practicing such skills is an important way to build individual and community strength.
Indigenous management of the Shoalhaven landscape has been largely absent since the early days of non-Indigenous occupation. Prior to this, landscape had been managed under traditional techniques for many thousands of years. The cessation of traditional practices, clearing of habitat and the introduction of exotic predators has contributed to great change to native flora and fauna including mass-extinctions, significant threats to many species and the development of an increasingly fire-prone landscape

The solution

Shoalhaven Landcare Association supported Bundanon Trust to host the 2018 National Indigenous Fire Workshop. The workshop was run by the local Mudjingaalbaraga Firesticks team, the National Firesticks Alliance, the NSW Rural Fire Service and attended by hundreds of Indigenous people and fire practitioners from across the nation. Connecting this broad community to the Shoalhaven and specifically Bundanon Trust’s lands has allowed many people; both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to increase their capacity to understand and read our landscape and to employ traditional techniques to Care for Country.

The impact

Bundanon Trust, on the banks of the Shoalhaven River hosted the 10^th National Indigenous Fire Workshop (NIFW) in July 2018, for the first time outside of Cape York. Over 40 local indigenous people were mentored by Elders prior to the event in the skills and knowledge associated with “cultural burning”. The NSW Rural Fire Service was heavily involved in the NIFW with a contribution of over $100,000 towards staff-time and equipment; and participation in four training events with Indigenous mentors. Indigenous people trained then led workshop activities throughout the four-day NIFW event to more than 300 participants from around the country. 150 hectares of native vegetation at Bundanon was burnt throughout the NIFW and regrowth will be monitored for floristic diversity.