Shaun Hooper
About
Shaun is a Wiradjuri Bularidee Aboriginal researcher focusing on bushfire management and Aboriginal land and sea management. Shaun has a strong background in western bushfire management as a fire behaviour analyst and firefighter with NSW Rural Fire Service, as well as a deep understanding of Aboriginal cultural practice associated with Aboriginal land and sea management. Shaun’s current research interests are focusing on the understanding of thresholds for fire management in an Aboriginal worldview, understanding the application of Aboriginal land management practices to the restoration of grasslands in NSW and the role of fauna in Aboriginal land and sea management practices as relational partners in land management.
Currently, Shaun is a Co-Lead Researcher on a Natural Hazards Research Australia project to investigate the operationalisation of Aboriginal land and sea management across the landscape. Shaun is currently undertaking his PhD research, investigating the role of ‘myth, ritual and magic’ in Aboriginal land and sea management and how this can support its (re)vitalisation.
Shaun’s past research work has involved developing an understanding of how Aboriginal cultural burning is conceived within Aboriginal cultural practices such as story, language and Law and the development of tools and methodologies for the integration of Aboriginal cultural heritage in bushfire management planning.