RURAL RESILIENCE
HEALING COUNTRY WITH CULTURAL FIRE
This year NQ Dry Tropics launched the Cultural Fire Management for Grazing Landscapes project , aiming to demonstrate how cultural fire could improve Country , increase the health and productivity of grazing land , and reduce the risk of wildfires .
Delivered in partnership between Traditional Owners of the Burdekin Dry Tropics region , WWF-Australia , Firesticks Alliance , and graziers , the project is revitalising ancient cultural fire management practices among Traditional Owners , while strengthening their relationships with graziers as they work together to heal Country .
Organic cattle property Jervoise Station , on Gugu Badhun Country near Greenvale , is operated by three generations of the Jonsson family and was chosen as a demonstration site for a carefully-planned two-year cultural fire management regime overseen by Firesticks Alliance Lead Fire Practitioner , Victor Steffensen .
Victor ’ s extensive traditional cultural and ecological knowledge enables him to read Country together with the local Traditional Owners and property owners , to understand the condition of a landscape and determine how to restore balance through cultural burning .
Workshop participants ( from left ) Reg Kerr ( Gudjala ), NQ Dry Tropics Director Richard Hoolihan ( Gugu Badhun ), Dr Scott Crawford ( CEO , NQ Dry Tropics ), Ben Kitchener ( Indigenous Fire Coordinator , WWF-Australia ), Victor Steffensen ( Firesticks Alliance Lead Fire Practitioner ), Jervoise grazier Greg Jonsson with granddaughter Ashton Reynolds , and Josephine Smallwood ( Wangan and Jagalingou ).
PAGE 44 2021-2022 – NQ DRY TROPICS YEAR IN REVIEW