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
Supporting Koala Recovery
Southern Yuin Country
Partnerships between Traditional Owners,
NSW National Parks and WWF are restoring
koala habitat through Cultural Fire. Gahdu Bagan (the Southern Yuin Firesticks team) is combining Cultural Knowledge with ecological monitoring to support one of the last-known coastal koala populations between the NSW and Victorian border. The crucial information gained from this work helps us understand koala movement, seasonality, and population variability across different types of land and ecosystems.
In late 2025, Gahdu Bagan hosted the Munggura Guraban 'Koalas Home' Workshop to explore the important role of Cultural Fire and Indigenous-led research in the recovery of the endangered guraban (koala).
Firesticks is supporting Indigenous-led research
projects that strengthen the bridge between
Ancient Wisdom and Western science. Indigenous
practitioners are conducting different types
of surveys, including sophisticated, non-invasive
thermal imaging and infrared drone technology. This is empowering the Community with the
tools to map Country in new ways to help restore
its identity and inform the way we use right fire
to support koala recovery.
“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 and Lead Fire Practitioner
Watch: Journey of a Cultural Fire Practitioner – Lynne Thomas
A Firesticks and Backbone Co-Production filmed on Southern Yuin Country.
