Fire!

Setting fire to a patch of dry bracken fern and leaf litter in a highly flammable stringy bark grove goes against everything I’d been taught about fire and the bush. But damn, it felt exciting!

A Palawa man stands in the bush, surrounded by a haze of smoke.

That morning I’d driven down to a property about 40 minutes south-west of Nipaluna/Hobart to deliver four 20 litre Fire Fighting Knapsacks to Palawa man and traditional fire practitioner, Jason Smith. They are a donation from Keep Tassie Wild, made possible by the support of our amazing customers.

The house he shares with his son is surrounded by beautiful eucalypt trees which, a few years ago, were impossible to walk under due to an impenetrable mess of chest-high blackberry, bracket and scrub.

Unhealthy country.

Now though, we walk and talk freely through a delightful area of open woodland as Jason excitedly points to something I’d missed: hundreds of orchid plants bursting from the compacted soil of winding wallaby tracks. These, he explains, have popped up since he started burning this area and if they all flower, will possibly be one the densest known patches of orchid flowers in Tassie.

A Palawa man kneels on the ground next to a small flame in the scrub.

Because of Lutruwita/Tasmania’s brutal colonial history, most traditional Palawa burning knowledge has been lost. But Jason, who has learnt from Aboriginal elders in northern Australia, is now applying these lessons to his own country, and seeing how the landscape reacts to flame. Bringing fire, asking questions, and letting the bush give its answer.

Cool fires, as these are known, move slowly through the landscape. The smoke, that first comes from a campfire nearby, wafts through the trees to let the animals know that fire is coming. Then, as the soil is damp beneath the dry leaf-litter, the fire that is lit amongst the dry bracken and leaves spreads slowly, allowing insects to move on before the flames reach them. A few minutes after the fire has passed, the ash is no longer hot, and animals can return to a surprising new food source: ash. This by-product of burning is rich in potassium and magnesium, and Jason regularly sees wallabies returning to a recently burnt patch to nibble on this fresh source of nutrients.

Fresh charcoal and ash held in an open palm.

Jason Smith runs Patrula Nayri (Fire Good), traditional fire workshops for anyone who is interested but focuses mainly on non-Aboriginal landowners who are keen to care for country by bringing fire to their property.

Our donation of four Fire Fighting Knapsacks worth a total of $1832 will allow Jason to conduct larger burns safely, and in turn, heal more country.

A stack of four Fire Fighting Knapsacks, wrapped in packaging. — Brand new Fire Fighting Knapsacks!

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