PEOPLE new to agriculture and inexperienced in fire-fighting participated in a fire education course in Perenjori last week.
Funded by the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council (NACC) and CBH Grass Roots Fund, the Perenjori Farming Forward event focused on fire safety and fire management and targeted the younger generation of farmers and the backpacker-based workforce.
Perenjori Farming Forward chairman Phil Logue said his group organised the event following devastating bushfires in Esperance, South Australia and Bindoon last year.
He said the reality was many young people in farming didn't have fire management experience that many of their elders had.
While numbers were a little down due to seeding's early start, Mr Logue said with the average age being between 21-29, covering both males and females, the day was a success.
The course covered everything from what to wear, how to deal with fire, how to use fire fighting equipment and how to recognise smoke patterns.
"That was really good to know how a person can make things safer and what to look for in the sky well before you get there, whether it's going to be very dangerous or manageable," Mr Logue said.
"Also, for women based at the homestead, it was good to have the perspective of communication channels, when to leave and how they can be of help."
NACC biodiversity program coordinator Jessica Stingemore said the workshop presented safety and biodiversity benefits for the community.
"It was a really great idea and we were interested in being involved," she said.
"From a biodiversity point of view a lot of remnant vegetation is now only on private property or farms across the region, so it's one of the great resources we have with unique plants and animals.
"By having farmers able to have more education about fire it means there's a greater chance that those remaining remnant vegetation patches will be protected and maintained into the future."
Dr Stingemore said raising fire awareness, fire behaviour and fire-fighting knowledge led to a safer population.
She said the practical aspect of fire management, where participants were taught beyond evacuation tactics into fire-fighting, analysing fire behaviour and smoke patterns, was very valuable.
Windy conditions on the day of the workshop limited fire-fighting demonstrations.
"It was a great example of how you have to be aware of your weather conditions because if we just lit a fire we wouldn't really have been in a position where we could control it with the amount of light tankers we had there," she said.
"It was a great example of what the weather is doing before you go out there and light a fire to burn your stubble or create a fire break."
Both NACC and Perenjori Farming Forward hope to run similar workshops in the future, including a female-specific class to cater towards the number of women working on the land and residing on homesteads.