INDIGENOUS WOMEN BUILD SKILLS
FIRST AUSTRALIAN WRTEX PROGRAM DEVELOPS CONFIDENCE AND COMMUNITY
BY DAVID BRUCE
A fire training program for Indigenous women in Australia has resulted in increased confidence and knowledge among participants, a broader network of colleagues, and a commitment to share ideas and techniques.
The 12-day Australia Women-in-Fire Prescribed Training Exchange (AUS WTREX) in May 2025 was evaluated by researchers from Monash University in Melbourne and included interviews with participants.
Zoe Schultz, researcher with the National Indigenous Disaster Resilience project through Monash University in Melbourne, and Abby Gonzalez, originally from Mexico and inow with Karuk Department of Natural Resources in California. Gonzalez was a participant in the Women-in-Fire Prescribed Training Exchange (WTREX) event in Karuk and then helped with the Queensland training. All photos courtesy of Queensland Fire Department.
The evaluation report, First Nations women, cultural fire knowledge, wellbeing and memory, includes comments from some of the 30 First Nations women who participated in the program. Participants are identified in the report by number rather than by name.
“You’re around other women and they always push you and they show you new things that you didn’t know, and they didn’t degrade you if you didn’t know, or if you didn’t know an answer you could ask that question,” said Participant 8.
Participant 16 agreed that the majority-women program created a comfortable environment.
“I just felt it was just amazing being in there because usually here at work, our ops are mainly males . . . and I get a bit nervous to ask, can I help out or try to do this stuff? I feel like I’m going to get criticised or judged or if I do something wrong, I’m going to get into big trouble.”
AUS WTREX participants gathered in North Queensland and burned in both the savannah and rainforest landscapes; they shared their knowledge, built their skills, talked about their challenges, and supported each other as fire practitioners.
The WTREX program, from its beginnings in North America, has resulted in the growth of an international network of women in fire management.
WHY AUSTRALIA?
Following the destructive bushfires of 2019-2020 across eastern and southern Australia, the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements highlighted the potential of cultural burning to reduce fuel load and risk and to offer cultural and ecological benefits.
The Australian WTREX event, hosted by the Queensland Fire Department and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, provided an opportunity for researchers to document and evaluate how such initiatives brought a cultural benefit to First Nations women working or volunteering in Caring for Country, and fire- and land-management roles. Caring for Country is an Australian Indigenous worldview – the understanding that if you look after Country, Country will look after you. (Country is a term often used by Indigenous peoples of Australia to encompass lands, waters, seas and skies, and the relationships held within Country; this means that if Country is sick or unwell, the people connected to Country are also sick or unwell.) The WTREX evaluation report highlights the profoundly positive impacts of a culturally responsive professional development program on First Nations women.
The report was compiled by Monash University’s National Indigenous Disaster Resilience (NIDR) project and funded by Natural Hazards Research Australia.
The research team was led by associate professor Bhiamie Williamson, a Euahlayi man and academic in Indigenous disaster resilience, and included Nell Reidy, Zoe Schultz and Jess Walters. Canadian researcher Amy Cardinal Christianson advised the team; Christianson is Métis from northern Alberta and an IAWF board member.
Prescribed Fire Training Exchanges (TREX) were developed by the North American-based organization Fire Networks for intensive, hands-on training. In 2015, some female fire managers who participated in a TREX event in North Carolina adapted the program for women, and there have since been WTREX events in the United States, Canada, Portugal and South Africa.
In 2022, the first Indigenous women’s WTREX was hosted by the Karuk Tribe in the Klamath Mountains of northern California – the first time in more than 200 years that the Karuk people had been able to conduct cultural burning on their ancestral lands.
Four Indigenous Australian women from Queensland – Chloe Swiney, Kylee Clubb, Evelyn Ivey and Alex Lacey – were supported by their workplaces to participate in the Karuk WTREX; it was their first experience in such a program, and it inspired them to bring WTREX to Australia.
Lacey, a Ewamian woman and Undara Volcanic National Park ranger, is a co-author of the report along with Swiney and Lacey, and the Monash team. In the report, Lacey describes the event as life changing.
“To have worked with my sisters in fire to bring AUS WTREX to life, and then to see the powerful effect the program has had on other Indigenous women and firefighters from across the world, fills me with pride that we contributed to this growing international network of empowered Indigenous women in fire.”
TWELVE DAYS WITH FIRE ON COUNTRY
In Queensland, the women enhanced their fire practitioner skills and shared cultural and western burning knowledge. The participants, who ranged in age from 19 to 60-plus, came from a range of professions and workplaces, including fire and land management roles within government agencies and Traditional Owner corporations. (Traditional Owner corporations are legal entities representing Indigenous Peoples who hold traditional rights and responsibilities to a specific area of land and waters (Country).)
Participants learned about incendiary burning, native plant species, the history of savannah and rainforest burning from Traditional Owners, took up roles in the incident command system, and practised traditonal Indigenous weaving with a range of materials.
Researchers used interviews, participant journals, and participant observation to evaluate the program, specifically looking at how First Nations women-led spaces and cultural knowledge exchanges impact wellbeing and memory.
According to the researchers’ report, there was a shared passion among the women toward culture and fire, with some participants describing cultural burning as cleansing. Deeper messages also emerged related to experiences of sexism, fear-based relationships with fire, and the impacts of colonisation and government laws, policies and practices on individual and family wellbeing.
The AUS WTREX participants spoke to researchers about the program as a safe and supportive space alongside other women in fire; this sentiment was particularly significant for those who said they were often the only woman, or the only Indigenous person, in their workplaces.
“The whole [AUS WTREX] program was really a big discussion of what challenges as women we face,” said Participant 3.
“ . . . women in the fire service [are few], but Indigenous women, even [fewer],” said Participant 5.
The research report indicates that participants became more confident through the act of teaching others.
“When I was there, I think it made me realise I actually know a lot of the stuff, especially the fire stuff,” said Participant 16.
“It built me with a lot of confidence in wanting to go and be more than just an operational ranger, which I’ve been for most of my working career, and wanting to go into those even more male-dominated spaces,” said Participant 1.
Participants exchanged knowledge about different burning techniques, learning from women who practice cultural and western-style burning across varied landscapes throughout Australia and overseas. Some participants said they were in awe of other Indigenous women who conduct aerial burns from helicopters.
“So, they were incendiary burners and they’re young women, young Aboriginal women that are doing this. And it’s like, wow, look that they’re out there in the choppers doing incendiary burnings,” said Participant 4.
A SAFE, SUPPORTIVE PROGRAM
The evaluation found that the AUS WTREX program was highly valuable, providing a safe and supportive space for First Nations women to build confidence, step into leadership roles, and exchange critical fire skills.
Swiney, the manager of bushfire mitigation for the Rural Fire Service Queensland and one of the event organisers, said the program went far beyond traditional training.
“By bridging the gap between western hazard reduction and cultural burning, the program allowed women to protect cultural heritage while fostering deep personal healing and lifelong professional networks rooted in shared lived experiences,” Swiney said.
“For many, it was their first opportunity to participate in a cultural burn or use their skills to protect cultural heritage.
“The impact went beyond networking and skills development. These women found companionship within a workforce that can be challenging and isolating for First Nations women. They returned to their communities changed and empowered, though the real challenge now is ensuring their workplaces actually recognise and value their expertise when they return.”
The researchers said they hope their report provides a practical framework for the wider emergency management sector; they believe the evaluation demonstrates that investing in targeted, culturally supportive programs directly strengthens workforce capability and wellbeing.
The report concludes that as Australia faces increasingly complex climate challenges, learning from this model offers government agencies a clear pathway to building a more inclusive and resilient frontline workforce.
Schultz, the lead author of the evaluation report and a research fellow with the National Indigenous Disaster Resilience program, said that while gender equity has improved in fire and land management, targeted professional development and support for First Nations women remains scarce.
“While some programs recruit young women into the fire sector, specific professional support for First Nations women already on the frontline is virtually non-existent,” Schultz said. “As Australia faces more frequent and severe fires and floods, we cannot afford to ignore such a highly capable and valuable part of this workforce.
“First Nations women are driving incredible initiatives to protect community and Country, but they are often doing it without adequate support. This research proves that investing in culturally supportive, women-led programs isn’t just a win for gender equity – it directly strengthens our national workforce on the frontline against climate disasters.”
Swiney – speaking in the report as a representative of supportive partner organisation Rural Fires Service Queensland – said she hopes the program has a strong future in Australia.
“AUS WTREX created a space for connection, learning, and knowledge sharing, grounded in respect for culture and Country. I hope this research helps inform and inspire First Nations women in fire, recognising this is just the beginning of something much bigger.’’
Service Queensland comprises 28,000 volunteer members who make up the 1,400 rural fire brigades.
By David Bruce
David Bruce is the program manager for the International Association of Wildland Fire and is based in Melbourne, Australia. He works closely with the IAWF executive director on all IAWF activities including conference organisation, board and committee governance, and communications. He edits the Wildfire Today/Fire Aviation online news site and manages the association’s social media accounts. Previously, David was communications director at Natural Hazards Research Australia, the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre, and the Bushfire CRC.
