Aboriginal community members in New South Wales' Clarence Valley region have taken part in nationally accredited firefighting training to help care for Country.
Yaegl Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation has collaborated with state-owned environmental management group Forestry Corporation of NSW to deliver fire training under the Fire, Country and People: Aboriginal community disaster ready partnership project.
Training was done in Gradfton and conducted by Fireground, a NSW-based Registered Training Organisation.
"Having 20 members of our community trained as accredited firefighters on Forestry Corporation appliances and equipment also provides an extra level of bushfire protection," Yaegl Wadyarr Gargle Land & Sea Contractors business manager Grant Brown said.
"We have 82 threatened floral and fauna species on Yaegl land, and fire management is key to their protection by preventing wildfires, regenerating our native species, and ensuring the forests germinate to their full potential by reducing weed growth."
In recent years, Forestry Corporation has partnered with Aboriginal communities across NSW to deliver the Fire, Country and People, aimed at strengthening disaster readiness and response and providing training and employment.
It's also placing traditional knowledge and practice in contemporary fire management, and seeking to 'help to build the scientific evidence base behind cultural burning,' Forestry Corporation said.
The $3 million project is co-funded by Forestry Corporation and Australian Government's Disaster Ready Fund with a close to $1.5 million share invested each.
Earlier this year, the Birpai and Bunyah Local Aboriginal Land Councils took part is firefighter training.
In the Clarence Valley, the recent training is an important asset, Forestry Corporation Aboriginal Heritage and Partnerships manager John Shipp said.
"This program creates an opportunity for the Yaegl community to work with government agencies to develop a path forward for effective and sustainable bushfire management, combining traditional cultural burning and modern firefighting techniques," Mr Shipp said.
"This will improve the resilience of the community to major bushfires. The use of fire in the environment is only one aspect of the community's land management experience, which has existed for more than sixty thousand years."
