Rebuilding Australia: Our Animals and Land

The response to a natural disaster, as planned by state and federal governments, have been implemented, tried and tested during the 2020 bushfires...but how did they go? The appointed Scientist responsible for the Dairy industry Response in NSW is Dr Neil Moss and he speaks to host Chris Russell about how farmers have been aided by these plans in the immediate aftermath of the devastating 2020 bushfires, as well as the lessons learned  along the way to help improve the government's response in the future. 

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Our animals and wildlife have been devastated by the fires, and for those that have survived, the aftermath of having dead and injured animals on our lands also poses a significant risk. Host Chris Russell speaks with former Commonwealth Inspector General of Biosecurity and NSW Chief Vet, Dr Helen Scott-Orr, about how we can manage this effectively and sensitively.  

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What can we learn about bushfires and the management of our land from our Indigenous  people, who have managed bushfire with bespoke methodology for 40,000 years? Soil Scientist Phillip Mulvey discusses the use of fire as a land management technique in Australia with host Chris Russell, what effect the 2020 bushfires have had on our soil and  the opportunity we have to start again, collaboratively, as the soils have effectively been sterilised by fire.

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Fire looks random but there is a scientific dedication to understanding how it behaves. Host Chris Russell speaks with leading Fire Scientist and former forest fire-fighter, Dr Thomas Duff, about his studies into how bushfires behave in hot, dry climates. Dr Duff explains how we can use this information to predict where and when areas might be affected and what the best way is to limit loss of life and property.

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Should we have predicted the severity 2020 bushfires? Former NSW Fire and Rescue Fire Commissioner Greg Mullins says that they had predicted it. Greg explains to host Chris Russell why the 2020 fires different from the bushfires of previous years, the cause and effect of these types bushfires and what can we learn from that to help us plan for future bushfire events. 

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Agricultural Scientist Chris Russell speaks to Australia’s most eminent fire fighters, soils experts, fire behaviouralists and agricultural advisers to assess what damage the 2020 bushfires have caused to our land and animals. He asks whether we could or should have pre-empted the ferocity of the fires and ask these experts how we can best move forward with Australia’s post fire recovery.

Coming soon

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