Footprint
We partner with Traditional Owners, community groups and land holders to restore the health of Country and people through Indigenous Land Management practices. This collaborative work delivers diverse outcomes, from boosting community resilience and agricultural profitability to creating employment and revitalising koala habitats. It demonstrates what can be achieved when communities determine the way forward. Explore some of the work we’ve achieved with our partners.
Awakabal Country | Credit: Saskia Wilson
Black Summer Project
Southern Yuin
Following the devastating Black Summer bushfires of 2019-2020, Firesticks partnered with four Indigenous communities on the Healing People with Cultural Knowledge Revival of Good Fire Project. This initiative went beyond immediate recovery in the face of disaster, focusing on long-term healing and resilience.
We engaged over 870 people in Cultural Burning workshops, fostering intergenerational knowledge transfer and creating a national network of Cultural Fire practitioners.
Ultimately, the program demonstrated that Cultural Fire is a proactive tool that builds cultural, social, economic, and ecological resilience, and that investing in Indigenous-led solutions is an effective way to heal communities and Country.
The project shows how Cultural Fire is both a Cultural right and a strategic asset in land and disaster management. Culturally, it revitalised knowledge transfer and deepened community connections to Country. Socially and economically, the project created new employment pathways and fostered local economic development, with many participants transitioning into full-time land management roles. Ecologically, the initiative led to measurable improvements in landscape resilience, native species regeneration, and biodiversity.
These findings provide a clear model for implementing the recommendations of the Bushfire Royal Commission and underscore the need for long-term investment in Indigenous-led land management.
“Cultural Fire brings the community together. It gives us all a sense of giving back to Country. It was all so unhealthy after the bad bushfires went through. It’s scary for all of us to think about how bad it got, and this is our way of preventing that and keeping our community and everywhere safe.”
Koorin Campbell
Djiringanj / Walbunja Yuin and Thunghutti Traditional Owner
Journey of a Cultural Fire Practitioner –
Koorin Campbell
A Firesticks and Backbone Co-Production filmed on Southern Yuin Country, NSW.
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