General News
7 December, 2025
CFA calls for community volunteers to monitor grasslands
WITH only a low number of people volunteering for the weekly task of monitoring designated sections of land, CFA has encouraged Victorians to become ‘citizen scientists’ and help strengthen critical up-to-date information about the state’s fire risk.
Grassland curing is the annual drying out of grass, and the drier the grass becomes, the higher the fire risk.
At this time of year, curing data feeds directly into CFA’s fire danger calculations, making accurate figures essential for determining fire danger ratings.
The ground observations are combined with satellite imagery to produce weekly maps that show how dry the grass is across Victoria.
CFA remote sensing analyst, Dr Danielle Wright, said boosting the number of trained observers will help fill gaps in the current data coverage.
“There are still a few areas of the state, including the north-east, north-west and south-west parts of the state, where we would really benefit from having more volunteers out on the ground,” she said.
“In regions where on-ground observations are not occurring, we are solely relying on satellite data.
“The satellite model is extremely useful, but it can’t always pick up every detail.
“It can overestimate and underestimate curing. Cloud cover can block readings for weeks, grass under trees can be missed entirely, and rainfall can impact readings.
“After rain, new green shoots might appear, but they’re tiny and don’t affect fire behaviour. The satellite sees green and assumes the area is of lower risk.
“Having volunteers makes a huge difference. They’re the ones confirming what is actually happening on the ground and capturing the details the model often misses.”
One of those keeping watch in Western Victoria is Edenhope local, Ian Hiller, who has put his hand up for the annual responsibility since about 2013.
Ian said a call from the CFA inspired him for “something that I could do over and above”.
“I am also a volunteer firefighter, and I thought, well, this is fairly straightforward, and I consider it to be pretty important, because what we're actually doing is ground proofing what the satellite is telling them in the office,” he said.
“This, I think, like a lot of things nowadays, is extremely important.”
He said it wasn’t that rare that ground observations were corrective.
“A month or so ago, the satellite was picking up the canola that was coming in flower and making the results look like the grass was curing quicker than it was,” he said.
He said, although making the observations was a relatively straightforward task, there was a structured way the information was gathered weekly, after the initial move to, with a landowner’s permission, select a paddock that fits certain criteria.
“We try and pick a paddock that's got that's not going to be subject to cultivation, so that we can monitor it all the way through,” Ian said.
“We then advise the grassland curing team of where the paddock is so they can pinpoint it on their map.
“Then each week, usually on a Sunday, I go into the paddock a measured distance to the same spot ... I then observe what's actually happening at that spot within a couple of metres of where I'm standing.
“At the same time, I look around and see what the general overview of that paddock and the adjacent paddocks are doing as well, and that's what I then make my decisions on.”
Ian has reported on two paddocks that are nearly 20 kilometres apart near Edenhope, but will sometimes be informed by a more general observation on “what’s actually happening in the overall area as well” as he drives around.
The CFA supplies a handy card with pictures that is compared to the state of the paddock, with grades given in increments of 10 per cent of curing.
Ian said the work usually begins in October, “depending on the weather”, and changes when the grass is 100 per cent cured, usually “in our part of the country … is around Christmas to New Year”.
“I think it's going to be a little later this year, because ... we've had so much late spring rain, that the grass is not really green, but it's not exactly dry,” he said.
After the New Year, the work doesn’t end, with observations on height and density continuing until “about March or April”.
Ian hoped more people would jump on board – he was surprised there were no volunteers nearer Horsham – and especially to see more farmers involved, as they often “don’t have to do anything special” with their property.
“I live in town, so I've got to specifically get in the car and go to the paddocks and have a look,” he said.
“But for a farmer doing his own paddock … they can almost do it as they go out and check the sheep or the cattle or crops or whatever.”
Dr Wright said becoming a grassland observer is a simple yet highly valuable way to support local fire safety.
“Everyone is welcome to participate, not just CFA volunteers,” she said.
“It’s a great way to support CFA without needing to be on the fireground.”
For more information: visit www.cfa.vic.gov.au/grass or email grassland@cfa.vic.gov.au.
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