More than 250 delegates attended the ninth annual Australian Bushfire Building Conference held at the Fairmont Resort Leura from 6-8 September.
Presented by Blue Mountains City Council in partnership with Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise and the NSW Rural Fire Service, the three-day conference is the only event of its kind for professionals involved in the planning, designing, building, landscaping, consulting, regulating, and certifying of buildings in bushfire-prone areas.
Now in its ninth year, the conference had its inception after the October 2013 bushfires which burnt large areas across the state of New South Wales, including over 65,000 hectares in the Greater Blue Mountains Area.
This year's theme was Looking Forward, Looking Back: Integrating Sustainable Solutions to address our legacy, aimed at preparing people, places and agencies for climate change.
Blue Mountains Mayor, Cr Mark Greenhill, who opened the conference said: "Those who live in bushfire prone areas know how profoundly the threat of fire can shape a community.
"In many ways, it is our capacity to reckon with our past that shapes how we respond to the challenges that we face. The specific possibilities of climate change invite us as a community to join, find inspiration for collective action and build transformative solutions."
Independent academic, Dr Margi Prideaux delivered a keynote address framed by her own experiences of the 2019-2020 fires on Kangaroo Island. Justin Leonard of the CSIRO chaired a panel discussion on the theme of Shared Responsibility.
The conference involved a range of sessions, workshops, and networking events. Attendees had the opportunity to learn about and how to implement the latest practices to create a more sustainable and resilient future.
Photos: Mayor Mark Greenhill opens the Australian Bushfire Building Conference; David King provides the Welcome to Country. Credit: David Hill, Deep Hill Media.
