Co-producing a fire and seasons calendar to support renewed Indigenous cultural fire management

What is it about?

Using Indigenous knowledge and Western science, we co-produced a Fire and Seasons Calendar for Banbai Country in NSW, Australia. Using biocultural indicators, this calendar guides cultural fire management at Wattleridge Indigenous Protected Area. The calendar was co-produced through reviewing literature from various disciplines (archaeological, ethnohistorical, Indigenous and ecological) and undertaking participatory action research and interviews to collate relevant information.

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Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash

Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Indigenous peoples have practiced cultural fire management for millenia. During the Pyrocene, cultural fire management will play an important role in continuing Indigenous people's connection to their culture and Country, and contributing to overall resilience in the face of increased wildfire risk. Our paper demonstrates how two cultures can work together to develop a calendar which guides cultural burning, shares cross-cultural knowledge and increases awareness of Indigenous cultural fire management.

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