Studying fire as an ecological and cultural tool

Published 02 March 2018

UNE PhD student Michelle McKemey is working with the Banbai Nation, near Guyra, on a project to compare the effects of traditional Aboriginal “cultural burning” with typical fire reduction burns, to get an understanding of how different fire regimes affect plants and animals.

As the team’s understanding of the effects of fire grows, Michelle is developing a “fire calendar” to show the best and worst times to burn if land managers want to promote or reduce populations of certain species.

ABC Radio interviewed Michelle about her work. You can listen to the interview via the Soundcloud link above.