FRNSW and Bega Local Aboriginal Land Council work side by side on cool burns at Tura Beach

The 2019-20 bushfire season was the state's worst on record, with 26 people killed, nearly 2500 homes destroyed, and more than five million hectares burnt-out.

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During that period, the Bega Valley alone had 448 houses destroyed by fire and 365,000 hectares, or 58 per cent of its total land mass, burned.

FRNSW has since undertaken significant hazard reduction efforts, with the latest focused on 1.2 hectares of Tura Beach Flora Reserve.

The site is home to a diverse range of native trees, plants, forest bird species and insects.

There has also been a cultural burn on land in Elizabeth Parade, Tura Beach.

Firefighters, seeking to manage this land while respecting its cultural value, have adopted a traditional approach by inviting and supporting the Bega Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) to carry out low-intensity cool burns.

Inspector Phil Eberle said work started August 3 but gusty weather on August 10 meant the fire had to be blacked out. Cultural burns are expected to continue August 14.

Inspector Eberle is enthusiastic about the results and wants to see more cultural burns happen.

"The big hazard reductions get very hot and require a lot of resources. These cultural burns are smaller, cooler and something that is done more often," he said.

FRNSW brought staff from as far away as Jindabyne and Narooma to work with the Bega Local Aboriginal Land Council and learn what is needed.

"As firefighters we want to do this. It really is a great step forward," Inspector Eberle said.

Cultural burns require the engagement of council and the Local Aboriginal Land Council.

"This measure will ultimately reduce the scale and intensity of bushfires if they occur in the area.

"FRNSW has closely worked with the LALC and the Bega Valley Shire Council during the planning and implementation of this important activity," Inspector Eberle said.

Local brigades have also engaged cultural fire practitioners who've shared their knowledge of land and water, and customary techniques, to ensure the burn delivers maximum benefit.

Inspector Eberle said firefighters were always deepening their cultural understanding and exploring different ways of caring for country.

"Through adopting these traditional methods of land management we seek to reduce the human, environmental and economic costs of natural disasters," Inspector Eberle said.

FRNSW wellbeing coordinator, leading station officer Craig Mashman, has used his own experiences as an Aboriginal firefighter to develop cultural land management practices on the South Coast.

"Cultural burning is about sharing, learning about, engaging with and demonstrating best practice for country, and building trust in communities," he said.

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