Thursday 29 November 7.30pm. Newstead Community Centre (9 Lyons Street, Newstead).
All welcome, no booking required.
Come and hear Scott Falconer (Assistant Chief Fire Officer with FFMVic) share his experience in the United States and Canada where he explored the involvement of Indigenous people in land and fire management. Scott’s research was supported through The Lord Mayor’s Bushfire Appeal Churchill Fellowship. He was accompanied by Trent Nelson, Dja Dja Wurrung man and Parks Victoria Ranger Team Leader for part of the research trip. Read more …
Fire Stories – part of Newstead’s Words in Winter 2018 – celebrated transformation. In the sunshine of a winter’s afternoon, we gathered, created, reflected and then shared our creations with the fire. Mostly anyway! A few things were held back, suggesting stories that needed to be developed further, or objects that suddenly felt precious!
Fire warms us in winter, but in summer fire evokes fear. Fire is part of the story of this landscape. Fire transforms and displaces. Fire creates shifts; not only of the earth, plants and animals, but transforms our own internal worldviews, experiences and memories. Transformations can create space for the new – in our lives and in the landscape.
Fire is a powerful force and a wonderful comfort. Aboriginal people have stories about how fire was brought to people and settler peoples brought their own experience of fire with them.
A Talking Fire event at Newstead Words in Winter: Saturday 12 August, 4.20pm – 8.30pm.
In the last session of Talking Fire, there was a chance to reflect on what we had heard and experienced over two intense days. The big question was: How can we rethink ‘fire’ at a landscape-scale, not just as a threat to a house or a town? And then – So what might we do differently? What have we learnt? What are we puzzled by?
Day 1 of Talking Fire was a hit – plenty of listening, reflecting, talking, sharing. We learnt that fire isn’t just one thing – every fire is different. Fire shapes ecology and it shapes the stories we tell. Our bush – the Box-Ironbark forest – doesn’t need fire for regeneration, but it can tolerate very occasional fires. We heard about cultural fires, slow trickling fires that are safe fires. And we talked about where risk reduction might be best – public land, private land or a strategic combination. What’s the right path to take?
Talking Fire 