Gidgegannup: Dhammasara Buddhist community nuns get property ready for fire season
Gidgegannup: Dhammasara Buddhist community nuns get property ready for fire season
20 July 2017
published by http://www.communitynews.com.au
Australia – NUNS at the Dhammasara Buddhist Community in Gidgegannup have been keeping busy over the past two months making sure their 200ha property is ready for the next fire season.
Swan Mayor Mick Wainwright said the nuns had been conducting controlled burns with the help of City of Swan volunteer bushfire brigade members and the State Wide Operational Response Division (SWORD) volunteer team.
The nuns have been instrumental in performing hazard reduction burns to over 10 hectares of bushland to manage the fuel loads on their property, he said.
The burns form part of an overall property management plan at the monastery, where strategic parcels of land are burnt over a planned cycle.
By managing the fire load on their property, the nuns are not only protecting their own small community, but the surrounding community as well.
City volunteers have been assisting the nuns over the past decade to manage their fuel load, which included customised training in basic fire fighting.
The training covered fire ground safety, bush fire behaviour and suppression, and learning how to use extinguishers.
Deputy Chief Bush Fire Control Officer John Mangini said the whole community would benefit by following the great example displayed by the nuns.
The nuns are setting such an excellent example of appropriately managing their own fire risks, and the wider community should follow their lead. he said.
The major factors that influence the impact of fire are weather and fuel load. Of these factors, fuel load is the only one we can really manage in order to reduce bushfire risk.
Planning your fuel management needs to be done well in advance, and where possible during the cooler months of the year rather than when the fire season is getting close, so act now.
