Stories

No matter where you live in Greater Hobart – Glenorchy, Kingborough, Clarence or Hobart – you are never far from the bush.

Some of us live right next to the bush, others are surrounded by tall eucalypt forests, and even those who live in more built up areas are still close to nature.

This makes for a great place to live, but also carries great risk every bushfire season.

That’s why the four Greater Hobart councils formed Sparking Conversations, Igniting Action, a real-life experiment to discover what stops people from preparing their homes for bushfire, and how councils can help them overcome these obstacles.

We want to spark conversations about what it means to be “bushfire ready” and work with communities to find the answers.

Igniting action

The Greater Hobart region is incredibly vulnerable to bushfires, as we saw with the enormous loss of life and property in 1967, a tragedy that is still within living memory for many Tasmanians. This was not a one-off event, it is an ongoing threat for which we all need to prepare.

A UTAS survey of people living close to bushland in Greater Hobart found that more than 80 per cent expect to experience a serious bushfire in their lifetime.

Many of those surveyed recognised that preparing their property for bushfire reduces the chances of damage to their home in the event of a bushfire, but said they need help and advice about how to carry out this work. That’s where we can help.

Let’s work together!

The threat of bushfire is only going to increase under climate change and as our cities grow.

There is just too much at risk not to have conversations with our loved ones, our neighbours and our communities about how we prepare for bushfire.

So follow us on Facebook and Instagram and sign up for our emails to be part of the conversations about how we create safer, more bushfire resilient communities.