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Video

Four Corners: Megafires

Are we approaching the 'age of megafires'? It might sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, but some scientists believe there is cause for concern. Watch this clip to find out how bushfires as we know them are changing. Discover why.

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Catalyst: Climate and bushfires in Australia

What can science tell us about the major cause of bushfires in Australia's past? How can it help us predict future bushfires? Two scientists discuss evidence related to bushfire regimes (bushfire patterns, types and intensity). Please note that this clip contains recent images of homes destroyed by fire that may disturb ...

Video

Catalyst: How will fire change the climate?

Considering the impact of a changing climate on the severity and frequency of fires is one thing, but how about the impact of fires on climate? Why does Professor David Bowman describe this scenario as a 'fire spiral'? What are the consequences of a world with fewer forests? As Professor Craig Allen explains, drought and ...

Video

Four Corners: Fire management strategies

What role do fire-behaviour specialists and ecologists have in fire management? Watch this clip to find out about issues relating to fire management in Australia, in particular prescribed burning.

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Battling erosion on the Gold Coast

Queensland's iconic Gold Coast beaches experienced severe erosion as a result of wild weather in early 2013. The liveability of beachside homes in the area is under threat. See the local council's attempts to shore up the coastline and hear some questions being asked about the best way to protect the landscape. Where does ...

Video

Four Corners: Increasing threat of megafires

Many scientists believe we are already experiencing megafires and that they will continue to increase in the future. In this clip you will hear from Australian scientists at the forefront of fire research. Discover what they have to say about the causes, projections, and consequences of an increased megafire threat.

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Four Corners: Ecological effects of bushfires

Did you know that Australia is the most flammable continent on Earth? Watch this clip to discover how bushfires impact natural ecosystems, and how the increasing global threat of bushfires may affect Australia. Australian scientists explain the ecological consequences of fire and a US expert describes his concerns for the future.

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Watering the largest river red gum forest

This nine minute video explores the importance of environmental flows to maintain the ecological health of the Barmah-Millewa Forest in the Murray Darling Basin. This forest is a RAMSAR site and an icon site of the Living Murray with great social, economic, cultural, environmental and spiritual significance. While the forest ...

Video

Returning water to Hattah Lakes

The two short videos in this series highlight the value of Hattah Lakes and the importance of ensuring that sufficient water replenishes the lakes during dry times. The videos explain how dams and weirs upstream store flood water that would otherwise fill the lakes. A collaborative engineering project reduced the environmental ...

Video

Spark: A better way to predict the spread of bushfires

In recent years, new technologies have helped us respond to natural disasters more quickly by providing up-to-date information as it becomes available. What if we could take this one step further with new technologies that can also predict disasters? Learn how Spark, which uses our existing knowledge of bushfire behaviours ...

Video

Catalyst: What is a megafire?

Join Catalyst reporter Anja Taylor as she visits the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico and discovers the impacts of recent megafires on the landscape there. What is a megafire? And how is a megafire different from a regular wildfire? How have recent fires permanently transformed the landscapes that Anja and Professor Craig ...

Interactive

Sites2See – water education

Resources and information on water as a human right, global water equality, water management and water consumption, with a range of teacher resources for water education.

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CFA publications

This is an online resource with links to downloadable publications including brochures, guides, plans and fact sheets on fire safety and related topics. There are also links to reports and policies, documents in languages other than English, Brigade magazine and audio versions of summer fire-safety information. This resource ...

Online

Bushfire education: what is fire safety

This is a teacher resource containing a lesson plan that focuses on safety, with guidelines for two class discussion topics: Helpful fires, dangerous fires; and Who keeps us safe from bushfires? The lesson plan includes suggestions for activities and props that will encourage awareness of the importance of fire safety. ...

Online

Activity: Australia's water future communication project

This is a web resource about water issues in Australia that provides a student activity accompanied by a teacher guide. The activity requires students to identify water issues that may affect Australia in the future, describe their possible effects and develop a presentation about these issues. A student worksheet provides ...

Interactive

CFA: am I at risk?

This is an online resource that describes four different areas of habitation and provides a list of points for each area describing what to expect in the event of a bushfire, to assist people to understand their level of risk. The four areas of habitation are: close to or among grass or paddocks, close to or among forest ...

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Tropical cyclones

This is a Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) web page about tropical cyclones. The resource explains what tropical cyclones are and includes a diagram showing the parts of Australia where they occur, indicating which months of the year each region is affected. It describes the impact of tropical cyclones on Australia, using Tropical ...

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Bushfire education: bushfire myth busters

This is a downloadable fact sheet which aims to dispel popular myths about bushfires, with 13 myths grouped into three themes: learning about bushfires, preparing for bushfires and responding to bushfires. Each myth contains a brief description of evidence that discounts the particular misconception about bushfire safety. ...

Interactive

CFA: bushfire interactive

This is an interactive resource containing a game, interactive simulations, detailed information and links to other useful information on bushfire readiness, including a downloadable fire plan. It consists of three sections - Fire risk, How a fire behaves and Fire safety - covering topics such as fire danger rating, radiant ...

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Bushfire education: weather part 1

This is a downloadable task sheet that looks at the effect of weather on bushfires, with tasks such as analysing temperature tables, interpreting articles, and summarising information about weather conditions at the time of the Black Friday and Ash Wednesday bushfires. Students draw conclusions about the elements of weather ...