How bushfires affect environmental sustainability

1. In Australia

1.1. Particularly Adelaide hills

2. Audience

2.1. Tutor/moderators

2.2. Fellow students

3. Justification of topic

3.1. Adelaide hills in which I live is a fire prone area

3.2. We experienced evacuation threats in January this year due to Sampson flat fires

3.3. To alleviate arsonphobia and pyrophobia through a better understanding of fire on environmental sustainability

4. Gathering information

4.1. Reports and analysis on the affects of fires, particularly in the Adelaide hills: search Google, phone council and contact fire departments

4.2. Indigenous knowledge of fires: search Google

5. Desired personal learning outcomes

5.1. Deeper understanding of the role of fire in environmental sustainability, particularly positive effects

5.2. Less fear and more appreciation of fire through deepened understanding

5.3. Knowledge of Indigenous beliefs about fire on the environment

6. Prior knowledge

6.1. Bushfires are helpful in some ways for sustaining the environment (Sneeuwagt, n.d.).

6.2. Aboriginals know the positive environmental effects of fire and believe in fire control (Sneeuwagt, n.d.; Whitehead, Bowman, Preece, Fraser, Cooke, 2003).

6.3. Some Australians may have arsonphobia or pyrophobia

6.4. Very hot/large fires may cause much damage on both the environment and civilisation (Sneeuwagt, n.d.).

6.5. Seeds survive fires (Swirk.com, n.d.)

6.6. Animals and insects may be injured in bushfires and many die

7. What I need to know

7.1. Does the environment benefit from bushfires?

7.2. Who is environmentally responsible for fire in the Adelaide hills i.e. what particular governing body/bodies?

7.3. How do bushfires contribute to environmental sustainability?

7.4. What do Indigenous people know about the relationship between fires and the environment?

7.5. How do governing bodies currently manage fires from an environmental perspective?

7.6. What environmental species benefit from fires?

7.6.1. How do they benefit?

7.7. What environmental species do NOT benefit from fires?

7.7.1. Why?

7.8. What would happen without bushfires, particularly in the Adelaide hills?

7.9. What happens if there is too much fire?

8. Fire

8.1. Indigenous practices

8.2. Local fire management practices

8.3. Living species

8.3.1. plants

8.3.1.1. vegetation is decreasing. Intensity and frequency of fires contributes to this (Gill, A. M., McKenna, D. J. & Wouters, M. A., 2014)

8.3.2. animals

8.3.2.1. Species are dealing in the Adelaide hills (South Australian Department of Environment and Heritage, 2009)

8.3.3. people

8.3.3.1. Fear and misunderstanding

8.4. Excessive fire/heat

8.5. Water sources

8.5.1. Large fires affect water quality (Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, 2011)