Representatives from Kaurna, Narungga and Ngarrindjeri have visited Kangaroo Islands bushfire affected areas as part of a three-day workshop.
They joined Tagalaka man and respected Indigenous fire practitioner Victor Steffensen, author of the book Fire Country,
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A total of 27 community members spent time on country, talking about how to best care for the landscape by using traditional approaches.
The workshop was part of the Nature Conservation Society SA's (NCSSA) Landcare funded project to monitor the recovery of the Islands threatened flora and provide solutions to enhance recovery and reduce extinction risks.
The workshop participants spent time assessing burnt and unburnt areas of the Island with Victor and talking about the benefits of cultural burns, when implemented at the right time, with the right conditions, in the right type of vegetation community, with the right management and burn history.
The projects cultural liaison consultant Rayne Simpson said Kangaroo Island was a culturally significant place for the Kaurna, Ngarrindjeri and Narungga people.
"For me as a Kaurna man, it was very important that Aboriginal land management practices, cultural burning, are included in the recovery of this very special place," Rayne said.
"Personally (the workshop) was a very important time for me and my own journey of learning about my culture and our way of looking after country.
"The workshops held on Kangaroo Island between the Three Nations, landholders and Victor from Firesticks was a significant moment, as we all came together to discuss and plan how we work together to heal the land using our ancient practices."
Rayne said now is the time to move forward and start implementing cultural land management into everyday practices across the country.
Not only for healing of country, but to proactively protect and revitalise what has been lost.
"Only by working together can we make this possible and protect this country for future generations," he said.
"There are landholders and some NGO's ready and willing to work with the traditional owners and are playing a major role in promoting and implementing what the First People of Australia can do."
Victor Steffensen is the lead fire practitioner with the not-for-profit Indigenous Corporation Firesticks Alliance.
The organisation promotes, educates and facilitates the planning and implementation of cultural burning as a way to improve the health of ecosystems and landscapes.
"When we reconnect and care for Country through Indigenous knowledge practices we begin a healing process that is not only hopeful, but exciting for everyone's future," Victor said.
Victor and Firesticks' work with landholders, planners and communities across Australia to empower Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities to work together towards achieving common goals of improving the health and resilience of country.
The next step of the project will be working with local community and stakeholders to talk about First Nations Landcare approaches and secure funding to later implement cultural burn demonstrations that will be gentle, sensitively applied and at a very small scale.
With ongoing funding, the local KI community will have an opportunity to be involved as they can be present at future workshops.
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This Landcare Led Bushfire Recovery project has been supported by the federal government's Bushfire Recovery Program for Wildlife and their Habitat.
SeaLink, Green Adelaide and the Kangaroo Island Landscape Board are also acknowledged for contributing to the workshop.
