Latest News
Welcome to the Hotspots News Online latest news. Listed below are all the articles from our current and previous newsletters.
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Fire Season Update June 2023
Posted: 28th June 2023February to April saw above average temperatures for much of the southern and central parts of the country and this trend is expected to continue. Learn more here. Read the full article...
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Hotspots Workshop Update June 2023
Posted: 28th June 2023With the addition of a few new Hotspots team members, workshops have been rolling out across the state, including in Goolawah, Yarramundi, Still Creek, Bombay and Goobarragandra. Learn more about the workshops in your local area. Read the full article...
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Large Forest Owls Project expansion
Posted: 28th June 2023The Nature Conservation Council of NSW’s Large Forest Owls Project has recently expanded across the Richmond and Clarence lowlands. Learn about the team, what the project is doing to protect threatened species across the region and the results... Read the full article...
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Results from your surveys with PhD Researcher Mercedes Ondik
Posted: 28th June 2023Hotspots participants collaborated with a UNSW PhD Candidate, Mercedes Ondik, read the results of her research here and how you can also monitor the health of your soils. Read the full article...
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Hear from experts at NCC's Bushfire Conference
Posted: 28th June 2023The Nature Conservation Council of NSW held their 13th Biennial Bushfire Conference, bringing together on-ground land managers, with agencies, academics and Traditional Owners. Learn more and purchase recordings here Read the full article...
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Meet our newest RFS Hotspots Facilitator
Posted: 28th June 2023The Hotspots Fire Project has a new facilitator, Jane Mansergh, who will be working in the southern parts of the state. If you see her at a workshop be sure to say hi! Read the full article...
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Get involved in fire management for your local area
Posted: 28th June 2023Would you like to be more involved in bushfire planning in your local area? There are currently bushfire committees around the state that need someone like you to be a voice for nature during fire planning processes. Learn more. Read the full article...
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Useful links and applications
Posted: 27th June 2023Check out the updated list of resources including tools, databases, and applications you may find useful. Read the full article...
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Fire Season Update, December 2022
Posted: 19th December 2022There is prolific growth in grass fuel loads across most of NSW. With wet soils, continued grass growth into summer is predicted. Read the full article...
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Hotspots Workshop Update, December 2022
Posted: 19th December 2022A full two-day workshop series has successfully been delivered to the Three Headlands community since June, accompanied by two individual information sessions in Utungan and Goolawah. Read the full article...
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Hotspots works with NEMA school project
Posted: 19th December 2022RFS Hotspots facilitator Jamie Bertram recently took part in delivering the first of 13 NEMA-funded Bushfire Education Workshops that are being delivered to primary schools in Coffs Harbour LGA to help children feel less anxious about bushfires. Read the full article...
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The Australian Fire Danger Rating has changed!
Posted: 19th December 2022Australia’s Fire Danger Ratings have changed, and are now consistent across all states and territories, as well as vegetation types. Take a look at how they have changed, and how to respond to the new ratings. Read the full article...
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Save the date – 2023 NCC Bushfire Conference
Posted: 19th December 2022In case you missed it - Nature Conservation Council of NSW's 13th Biennial Bushfire Conference, themed “Managing Bushfire Together: applying science, skills and stories” has been confirmed for Wednesday 24th – Friday 26th of May... Read the full article...
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FNPW grants for landholders now open
Posted: 18th December 2022Grants of up to $5000 are being offered with the purpose of supporting communities in areas affected by the 2019-2020 bushfire season. Read the full article...
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Hotspots Staff Update, December 2022
Posted: 17th December 2022The Hotspots Fire Project welcomes new team members in both the Rural Fire Service and Nature Conservation Council. Please say hello if you encounter Zofie, Jason, Belinda or Neal at future workshops or events! Read the full article...
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Fire and Restoration Resource Hub, December 2022
Posted: 16th December 2022Various new articles have been published on the Fire and Restoration Resource Hub website, considering topics such as the use of forest thinning as a fire management strategy, a community initiative to protect hollow bearing trees and the power of... Read the full article...
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Fire season update December 2021
Posted: 11th December 2021It’s been a wet start to the bush fire season with above normal rainfall set to continue until late summer but don’t get complacent about potential fire risk during the warmer weather. Read the full article...
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Hotspots Workshops Update December 2021
Posted: 11th December 2021Now that lockdown has lifted in most of NSW, Hotspots is rolling out across the state with face-to-face workshops in the Upper Kangaroo River, Berry, Bombay, Upper Yango and the Elands Bulga Plateau. Read the full article...
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Understanding fuel… and fuel accumulation
Posted: 11th December 2021A new resource for landholders, created by the Hotspots Fire Project team, delves into the influential world of fuel. Read the full article...
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Kurrajong Koala Corridor project, six years on…
Posted: 11th December 2021Six years after a Hotspots workshop in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, the Kurrajong Koala Corridor Project has grown into a super highway for biodiversity. Read the full article...
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Rare mouse makes a comeback
Posted: 11th December 2021The enigmatic Nationally Endangered Hastings River Mouse has been located during a recent small mammal survey near Mt Hyland, after concerns for the population following the 2019 Bees Nest Fire. Read the full article...
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Engaging a contractor to burn
Posted: 11th December 2021Are you considering getting help to undertake a burning activity on your property? Here is some guidance about engaging a private contractor to undertake a burn on your behalf. Read the full article...
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Fire and Restoration Research Hub, December 2021
Posted: 11th December 2021Did you miss out on NCC’s 12th Bushfire Conference? The recordings of the three-day event are now available online along with a wealth of other resources on the Fire and Restoration Research Hub. Read the full article...
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Fire season update June 2021
Posted: 28th June 2021Areas of NSW are continuing to experience above average rainfall. Prescribed burning opportunities will be influenced by local conditions. Read the full article...
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Hotspots Workshops Update June 2021
Posted: 28th June 2021Two further workshop series have been recently delivered in Nana Glen and Canyonleigh to cap off a year of challenging and adaptive delivery during the pandemic. Read the full article...
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Large Forest Owls Project workshop and wrap-up
Posted: 28th June 2021As the Large Forest Owls Project comes to a close, we held a face-to-face workshop for landholders in the southern project area. Lucky participants saw a greater glider, boo-book and barking owls and heard a masked, and powerful owl during a... Read the full article...
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NCC 2021 Bushfire Conference and North Head field day
Posted: 28th June 2021In May, NCC delivered its 12th Biennial Bushfire Conference, which focussed on cool, warm and hot fires and how these affect communities and ecosystems in a changing climate. Read the full article...
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Welcome to the team! NCC ecologist Hannah Etchells
Posted: 28th June 2021The Hotspots Fire Project has a new ecologist, Hannah Etchells, who will be working in the central and southern parts of the state. If you see her at a workshop be sure to say hi! Read the full article...
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Before You Light that Fire
Posted: 5th March 2021Planning a prescribed burn? The Before You Light that Fire publication provides guidance for landholders in NSW Read the full article...
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New National Emergency Warning
Posted: 5th March 2021The Australian Warning System is a new national approach to warnings for hazards like bushfire, flood, storm, cyclone, extreme heat and other severe weather. All states and territories will now display incidents in the same way. See the new symbology...
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NSW Bushfire Inquiry Update
Posted: 5th March 2021The Hotspots Fire Project has been recognised in the NSW Bushfire Inquiry as an important tool for creating resilient and fire-prepared communities. Following one of the inquiry recommendations, we will be talking to previous participants about... Read the full article...
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Large Forest Owls Project videos
Posted: 5th March 2021See what the Large Forest Owls Project has been up to and access their training videos via a new Large Forest Owls Project poster. Read the full article...