Using fire to care for Country at one of Canberra’s most important conservation sites

A passionate team came together in the Ginninderry Conservation Corridor earlier this year to carry out the region’s first official cultural burn. Photo: Ginninderry Conservation Trust.

A diverse group gathered in Canberra’s north on a beautiful late August day to share traditions passed down for thousands of years.

The eclectic group made up of RFS and ACT Parks staff, Ngunnawal men and women and members of the Ginninderry Conservation Trust successfully carried out the first official cultural burn in the Ginninderry Conservation Corridor.

Lighting the fire took over three years, so to say the energy in the air was palpable would be an understatement.

Burns chief Tyson Powell is a Caring for Country ranger with the trust. He founded the Caring for Country program to promote traditional Indigenous land management in the corridor.

“Burning has been used for countless generations to manage land,” he says.

“It’s about reconnecting Indigenous people with their country and traditional ways of caring for it. Western beliefs view fire as a dangerous thing to be feared and avoided, but to us it is an important tool used to cleanse, heal and bring new life.

Cultural burning enhances the land’s ability to support the many people and animals that depend on it to thrive. The indigenous practice of fire has been used for over 60,000 years to manage plant growth by burning away old fuel and encouraging the growth of new foliage in its place.

“We burn in small areas close to the ground, which keeps the overall temperature low and gives animals time to get out of the way,” Tyson says.

“There are many more invasive species in our bushes and grasslands than we think. Weeds from other countries have not evolved alongside fires like Australian plants, so cultural burns are a useful tool to prevent them from taking over.

“Many native plants actually need fire to germinate their seeds, so burns not only control weeds, they also encourage new and stronger growth of our native species.”

The burn went well, which Tyson said will help Caring for Country rangers use fire as a regular management tool in the corridor.

Proud to stand in front of the ‘King Brown’ fire truck, which he painted and which bears his father’s name, Adrian Brown, another burns leader and Ngunnawal man, says the importance of passing on Cultural knowledge is powerful.

“My father, himself, taught me what to burn, what type of fire to use and understanding the needs of the land and animals,” he says.

“Indigenous people don’t always have the opportunity to go to the countryside and practice cultural practices like this, but we need to continue to teach these traditional skills so that they are not lost.

“So much has already been lost. Doing something powerful for your people that instills a sense of pride and connection to country in the next generation is more than important, it’s crucial.

Visit Ginninderry for more information.