Adrian, known as Ado, was born in Naora (Nowra) and considers himself fortunate to have grown up in his community and culture, feeling connected to his land. Victor, a descendant of the Tagalaka clan from North Queensland, is the Lead Fire Practitioner at Firesticks, a filmmaker, musician and author. He has been reviving traditional knowledge and culture, and healing landscapes and community across Australia since he was a teenager.

Baby steps to progress (9.14)

Victor wrote a children’s book as a way of getting back to the arts using storytelling to reactivate culture and landscape connections and change society while having fun. He views children’s books as a way to simplify the message and bring it down to its basics, and guide young people to positive change and healing. A music video accompanies the book, which helps evolve ceremony and teach ceremony, culture and important life skills in a relatable way. Victor advises learning from the landscape about the right way to live.

Listen to the country (16.58)

Victor finds it alarming that people fear fire, but takes solace in Indigenous knowledge, which focuses on the right way of doing things and provides a positive solution. His work is focused on dispelling fear. Ado narrates the story of connecting to nature with his father, who realized that forests were deteriorating because Indigenous peoples had not been allowed to manage them. Indigenous knowledge teaches to “love and accept and respect everything”.

“Learning not through science, but through spirit” (24.10)

Ado has learnt from his Elders about nature, and realizes that this knowledge is only recently being discovered by non-Indigenous people. Due to this innate understanding of the natural world, Indigenous fire-keepers do not need excessive tools or gear to manage fires, and are able to predict fire behaviour patterns. Victor is inspired by the magic of nature to teach the next generation how to care for it.

“Fire is good for us as people” (33.40)

Victor notes that the insights of the Indigenous cultures are shifting the culture of the country as a whole, evolving into a nature-based one, where people can move from fear of fire to a connection to the land. When agencies include community members to seek their input, we can reap the benefits of the cultural lens of managing land through fire for hazard reduction, as well as for social, cultural and environmental development.

Fire and sustainability (39.50)

Victor and his team are working on creating a training model leading to a certified diploma to factor in lived experience for those who can demonstrate and manage the work practically. With the myriad skills required to be a fire-keeper, connecting the education to the landscapes and year is important. There are many opportunities and career options, not just in fire-keeping, but in sustainability too. He believes this is the beginning of meaningful employment for many.

“We need to work together” (50.24)

Victor believes that the work they have been doing in education to further cultural, environmental and economic development has been supported by Mother Nature. It has also made the country take notice of the work the Aboriginal peoples are doing, and recognize the need to support this work. Firesticks believes in the power of everyone coming together to manage what is a big problem on a huge landscape.

“It’s all about doing the right thing” (54.43)

Victor recommends being inclusive, making people comfortable and respecting them and their place to work together towards sustainability. Conducting educational workshops and activating communities allows people to learn how Aboriginal fire is a holistic practice with ecological, cultural and social benefits. He urges people to take action towards nature, and not be limited by barriers of time or money. “When mother nature is involved, anything is possible”, he says.

Send in your comments and feedback to the hosts of this podcast via email: amy.christianson@canada.ca and yourforestpodcast@gmail.com.

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Celebrating Success with Victor Steffenson and Ado Webster

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