In 2021 we explored the theme "Cool, Warm, Hot: the burning questions" which examined how different fire intensities can influence ecosystems and communities in a changing climate.
We heard from leading academics, practitioners, Traditional Owners, and decision-makers including Former Commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW Greg Mullins, Minister for Energy and Environment Matt Kean, Emeritus Professor and author Bill Gammage, Professor David Lindenmayer, Dr Mark Ooi and many more.
Presentations investigated the effects of low, medium and high-intensity fires on the four sub-themes: climate change; fire ecology; ferals, weeds and restoration; and community resilience. The conference examined how to incorporate and respond to cool, warm and hot fires in fire management as part of an optimal fire regime to achieve multiple objectives for biodiversity and cultural values, hazard reduction objectives and community resilience.
Building on themes from previous conferences, we continued to showcase scientific research, current practices, on-ground projects and cultural burning to highlight lessons from across a range of ecosystems and communities.
Download The Abstracts Booklet Here
Field Day
We followed up with a face-to-face conference field day to learn more about cool, warm and hot fire, at North Head on Friday 4th June. We walked around the headland to see what had changed after recent fire events, heard about threatened species recovery and regeneration, and discussed lessons learnt and new approaches in fire, environmental and heritage management from experts and land managers. We heard from organisations including: Harbour Trust, NPWS, Northern Sydney Aboriginal Heritage Office, Northern Beaches Council, Fire and Rescue NSW, North Head Sanctuary Foundation and Australian Wildlife Conservancy.
