Belinda Young

As climate change is predicted to increase the intensity and frequency of bushfires, preventing the 80–95 per cent of bushfires caused by humans is paramount. In California and Victoria, bushfire management strategies have involved varying degrees of collaborative input from local peri‐urban communities to address the bushfire risks. However, community and agency collaboration has mostly focused on preparedness and response activities with limited attention given to the prevention of the ignition itself. By comparing bushfire prevention approaches in Californian and Victorian and involving agencies, real and virtual world communities, Belinda’s research is examining whether a shared sense of responsibility between stakeholders can be fostered in online communities to prevent human caused bushfires.

Belinda is currently Communications Director at The Philanthropic Collective.