Cultural burning supports facilitated natural regeneration, using the minimum necessary intervention based on the ecosystem recovery capacity.
Cultural burns are precise, small-scale, and designed to encourage native species while reducing threats from invasive weeds like Eragrostis curvula and Lantana camara.
Engaging and empowering Traditional Custodians in planning and delivering restoration, enables burns governed by cultural protocol, not prescription plans, so they result in strong ecological outcomes like intact canopies, healthy understorey, and reduced erosion risk.
True partnerships with Aboriginal organisations are necessary, not tokenistic ‘Aboriginal engagement. Bush Regenerators and ecological restoration practitioners need to build relationships based on respect, honesty, and shared care for Country. Guidance by Elders and lived experience informs effective outcomes on the ground. This challenges assumptions about what ‘qualified’ restoration looks like and invites us to rethink expertise in ecological restoration.
