Don’t forget – our community conversation Talking Fire starts at 10am on Saturday at the Newstead Community Centre. Everyone is welcome – come for the weekend, for a day or a session – and its free.
Talking Fire is about our local community, and fire in our local landscape. How can we work better as a community to reduce the risk to us – to our homes, families and friends – as well as protect our forests, wildlife and cultural sites?
Saturday will start at 10am with a welcome to Country, short talks on cultural burning, ecology, local fire experiences and fire myths with speakers Trent Nelson, Professor Andrew Bennett, Joan Sartori and Sam Strong. If you are coming on our field visit to look at the landscape (11-30am – 3pm Saturday) don’t forget your lunch, water bottle, sensible shoes and mossie repellent!
Or head to the Community Centre and record your experience about fire with Gordon Dowell – do you remember the 1981 fire? did you set your haystack alight? or stories passed don from your forebears about fire?
On Sunday we start at 10.30 with a focus on risk: landscape-scale fire planning from Alison Boak (DELWP), community planning around risk from Steve Pascoe, and vegetation and fire from David Cheal, fire ecologist, and then we’ll look at how local planning could reduce risk.
After lunch, provided by Newstead Men’s Shed and Community Garden, Jinette de Gooijer will facilitate an exploration of ideas and options on how we might respond – as a community – to what we have learnt over the weekend.
What will come out of Talking Fire? Come along and share your ideas – that’s what its all about. Register via our website – talkingfire.org – it only takes a minute and it’s free, or drop in.
Thanks to Mount Alexander Shire Community Grants, Maldon & District Community Bank (Bendigo Bank), and the Norman Wettenhall Foundation for funding support, and to all the local organisations and individuals who are helping make Talking Fire a reality.
Talking Fire 