Cultural burns, while holding cultural significance, can also be effective ways to protect plants that are not only native to the region, but vital to its history. In 2023, the Worimi people in partnership with the NSW Government led a cultural burn in the snow grass plains of Barrington Tops near Newcastle. Their mission was to propagate the now vulnerable Bularr-Gulga Watuun, or veined doubletail orchid (Diuris venosa).
An Native Flower Under Threat Leads a Community-Government Partnership
The Bularr-Gulga Watuun – deemed the “princess of its genus” in the 1920s – has thrived in these sub-alpine grasslands for centuries. Protecting it through the ancient practice of a cultural burn enabled the local community and the NSW Government to collaborate in holistic threatened species protection and land management, while providing the opportunity for the Worimi people and members of other First Nation groups to reconnect with Country.
The burn was led by Worimi Elder Michelle Perry, in partnership with the NSW Biodiversity and Conservation Division and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. Assistance on the day was provided by Yarrabin Fire, an organization committed to reviving traditional Aboriginal practices of burning Country through cultural burns, workshops and multi-day camps. The collaboration also included Worimi youth, helping impart knowledge of hazard burns and local ecology to the next generation of landholders and users.
Watch the video overview of the cultural burn here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sz21CSu7Jw
Read Patagonia’s Roaring Journal blog coverage of the cultural burn here: https://www.patagonia.com.au/blogs/roaring-journals/barrington-tops-cultural-burn-fire-walks-across-biyan-biyan-orchid-come-up
This article was written by Julia Edgar, a volunteer supporting the Nature Conservation Council of NSW’s Bushfire Program.
Image: Barrington Tops photo by Athithan Vignakaran on Unsplash
