A new generation of traditional land managers is ready to protect the local landscape after becoming qualified in the cultural fire practice.

A team of 10 Bpangerang Aboriginal Corporation members became fully qualified to undertake cultural burns across the rural city, following a week-long training course which culminated in a controlled burn in the Mullinmur Billabong.

Land and water project officer at Bpangerang Aboriginal Corporation Myriah Atkinson said the program, under the guidance of mentor Greg Henry, was a recent addition within the community.

Ms Atkinson said qualified cultural burn operators now range from a mix of generations in the local area.

“We’ve got two of the youngest burn bosses in our team who are fully qualified to hold a burn, they’re 16,” she said.

“It’s a good learning experience for three whole generations; the young, the middle like myself and the elders, we all bring something to the table.

“The young ones might say something that open up our eyes and you always go with the knowledge from the elders as well.”

The group began their training on 20 April, learning about the importance of the 60,000-year-old practice within the community, which has been used to promote ecological health, strengthen cultural connection, and enhance community safety for generations.

Ms Atkinson said the group completed their training with a controlled burn on Thursday, and learned the best measures on how to control the blazes within a confined area.

“We burn in Mosaic, so we don't just take out a big patch…  you have it split up so it's better to manage, easier to control,” she said.

 ”We always go out like a day before and go prep, which is put in our break lines, divvy up the property intersections so then it's easier to burn.”

After completing their qualifications, the group conducted their first cultural burn-off as qualified operators near the Bontharambo homestead in Dockers Plains last Friday, a property Ms Atkinson said the group regularly attended due to its cultural significance.

“Last summer we burnt there, there was actually a manipulated tree which has been there for thousands of years,” she said.

“So you’ve got to put in the extra prep around that tree, you’ll have someone stand and guard it.”

Ms Atkinson said the group has six planned burns to conduct within the rural city this season on private properties, with landholders who have given the group permission to conduct burns.