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By Eric Brocken
Recently, a group of landholders, volunteer firefighters, ecologists, bush regenerators, and curious locals gathered at the Kurrajong Heights Bowling and Recreation Club for a two-day Hotspots Fire and Biodiversity workshop, a unique collaboration between the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) and the Nature Conservation Council (NCC).
Hotspots is not your average fire safety session. It goes deeper into history, ecology, culture, and even the psychology exploring how we might live with fire, rather than simply reacting against it.
There Is No Simple Answer
We often speak of fire as either friend or foe. But the truth, as became clear over the two days, is far more nuanced. The Kurrajong Heights area, perched on a sandstone ridge between Sydney and the Blue Mountains, is home to a patchwork of plant communities: tall forests, shrubby heathlands, grass trees, gullies and even rainforests, each responding to fire differently. Some require fire to regenerate. Others may be pushed toward collapse by too much burning, too often and potentially increasing the risk of fire intensity !
There is no one-size-fits-all solution, and certainly no single “hazard reduction” formula that works across this deeply varied landscape.
What matters is context - timing, season, aspect, slope, wind, moisture, fuel type and perhaps most importantly, perspective.
Two Perspectives, One Country
The workshop reflected two important perspectives, that of the RFS, focused on risk reduction, and that of the NCC, advocating for biodiversity and ecosystem function. Often seen as being at odds, here they were presented side by side.
We explored the tension between fuel load reduction and the ecological imperative to preserve habitat for threatened species, allow seed banks to mature, and create conditions for ‘better’ post-fire recovery.
Importantly, we also reflected on decision-making itself: How do we balance our human tendency for control (the left-brain logic of firebreaks and regulation) with a more holistic, intuitive understanding of Country (the right-brain awareness of microclimate, slope, soil life and story)? What does it mean to be sensitive to life?
Landscape Literacy: Reading the Fire in the Land
One thing became clear: we can collectively learn to read the landscape. Soils that hold more moisture and can can support deep root systems that can reduce fire intensity. Microclimates shaped by aspect, canopy cover, and wind exposure create natural buffers. Managing weeds, can be important. Their management, especially where herbicide use is concerned, raises important questions. Are we trading one risk for another?
Grazing, when used thoughtfully, may offer another tool, one among many.
Hazard Reduction and Wildlife Recovery: A Delicate Balance
We considered the question: If fire is inevitable, how do we ensure our burns are beneficial?
Many participants expressed a preference for low-intensity burns that mimic natural fire regimes. Such burns can reduce surface fuel while allowing wildlife to escape and recolonize. But that kind of fire requires preparation, patience, trust and, perhaps most critically, local knowledge.
The RFS shared insights into hazard reduction permits, burn plans, and notification requirements. Participants were encouraged to connect with their local brigade and report any vegetation management activity, no matter how small.
And yet, there was also recognition that much of this is beyond human control. Change, increasingly erratic weather and fuel accumulation patterns will all shape the future in ways that are hard predict.
New Tools, Ancient Practices
The idea of creating biochar, converting thinned understory materials into a stable form of carbon that can be added to soil to retain water and nutrients. This approach, rooted in Indigenous knowledge and increasingly supported by science, offers a way to reduce fire risk while building soil fertility and even creating an economy.
“There is also Cultural Burning” with its nuanced understanding of ‘Country’ seasonality, and the role of fire in shaping life.
There were discussions of AI-supported coordination tools, decision-making platforms, and landscape-scale monitoring. But at the heart of it all was something simpler: trust and cooperation.
Looking Forward
‘Hotspots’ provides space for different voices and perspectives and reminded us that fire management is not just about tools, but about relationships. Between people and place, between agencies and landholders and between past and future.
As we head toward another fire season, we carry forward the challenge: to find a middle path between over-burning and under-preparing, between reactive suppression and proactive stewardship.
And to do so together as neighbours, as community members and as part of a landscape much older than any of us.
