The bushfires of 2019-2020 burnt through almost the entire Bungwalbin area in Richmond Valley LGA devastating the local community and habitat for threatened species and ecological communities.

The Bungawalbin Community Bushfire Recovery Project is supporting ecological restoration, employment and strengthening community resilience through implementation of bushfire recovery activities across public and private land.  The project involves a partnership between the local community, Bungawalbin Landcare, Bandjalang Traditional Owners and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.

Works are supporting recovery of the Bungawalbin community’s natural environment, social well-being and economy through direct on-ground restoration actions including bush regeneration works to assist bushfire recovery including threatened species habitat.

In early 2022 the local community was severely impacted by record floods. This caused trauma to the local community with houses and possessions lost. Many people, including landholders involved in this project, had to be rescued after being trapped by floodwaters.

The employment and ecological restoration activities supported by the project are now assisting community recovery post bushfires and floods. The Bushfire Local Economic Recovery project builds on earlier bushfire recovery projects supported by the Australian Government and Landcare Australia.

This Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund project is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and the New South Wales Government under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.