CULTURAL burns at Terry Hie Hie and Gunnedah have marked important milestones for the Cool Burning for Culture and Ecological Knowledge project, focused on benefitting the white box–yellow box–Blakely’s red gum grassy woodland and derived native grassland critically endangered ecological community in north-western New South Wales.

The project is funded by the Australian Government Natural Heritage Trust and delivered by North West Local Land Services, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel.

North West Local Land Services implemented the burns in partnership with the local Aboriginal community and other stakeholders.

The project aims to improve the ecological understanding of the relationship between the ecological community and cultural burning practices while also providing valuable opportunities for people to spend time on Country.

By gaining a better understanding of how the ecological community responds to fire, government agencies, private landholders and Aboriginal communities will be better able to manage and preserve native vegetation across the region.

A cultural burning project at Terry Hie Hie was delivered by North West Local Land Services North in partnership with the local Aboriginal community and other stakeholders.

Aboriginal community members, school students and the wider community joined North West Local Land Services in partnership with Red Chief Local Aboriginal Land Council and Moree Local Aboriginal Land Council to participate in cultural burns at the Berrigal Reserve at Terry Hie Hie and Gunnedah Resource Centre in recent weeks.

Both burns drew impressive crowds with more than 90 people attending in total, fostering a vital connection to Country and learning about biodiversity.

The NSW Rural Fire Service also played a crucial role, with their Aboriginal mitigation crew and broader team assisting on both days and contributing to the careful planning of the burns.

Angus McIntosh, Land Services Officer, North West Local Land Services, said the focus is to use the findings to help manage and protect delicate ecosystems.

“this will benefit present and future generations,” Mr McIntosh said.

Wally Hammond, Cultural Broker, North West Local Land Services, said it has been great to see such enthusiasm for the project from participating Aboriginal organisations.

“These organisations already do such important work in protecting cultural sites across the north-west, so it is fantastic to be able to collaborate on an exciting project like this,” Mr Hammond said.

To learn more about this project, visit Cool Burning for Culture and Ecological Knowledge.