Defining Moments: Fire
For hundreds of thousands of years, fire has played a vital role in human evolution and civilisation. Today, our relationship with fire has changed significantly. Intense, extensive and deadly bushfires are increasingly common events that have catastrophic consequences for the people, communities and landscapes caught in their path.
How can we harness 65,000 years of Aboriginal knowledge and land management to better prepare for and manage the impact of bushfires? What does the changing pattern of human habitation on this continent mean for our engagement with fire? What is the future of humanity’s interaction with fire in a changing environment?
Join ABC RN’s Big Ideas presenter Paul Barclay in conversation with our expert panel as they examine our relationship with fire. The panel features Bruce Pascoe, award winning author of Dark Emu; Helen Cleugh, Director of the CSIRO Climate Science Centre; Professor Tom Griffiths AO, environmental historian; and Jane Smyth OAM, educator and Canberra bushfire survivor.
This program is part of the Defining Moments in Australian History project.
Developed in collaboration with ABC Radio National.