“I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.”

These words formed the crux of a speech by Greta Thunberg to the Davos World Economic Forum in January 2019. Her message has galvanised people around the globe, both in support, and denial of Greta’s declaration of a climate crisis. Using the compelling imagery of Earth as our home, and of fire destroying it, this 16-year old school girl from Sweden has become a catalyst for change. Her impassioned calls for urgent action and to “unite behind the science” have touched a chord that has wide implications.

Describing our Earth as “on fire” brings powerful associations of destruction, fear and death. Fire is also transformational, a source of energy, power, and passion – essential for life. Postdoctoral research on the eco-physiological responses of eucalypt and chaparral ecosystems to fire was my formal introduction to this enigmatic element. A fascination with the critical role fire regimes play in these ecosystems grew into a burning desire to better understand the connection between people and nature, using the elements as a framework.

This journey has taken me from the mountains around Canberra, to the mountains of Japan. From studying Snow Gums, to pilgrimages in the snow. Along the way my research on vegetation ecology and management, biodiversity conservation in production landscapes, climate change and restoration ecology has taken an integrative, inclusive and synthetic approach, predominantly at a national level. Helping establish the journal Ecological Management & Restoration, working for a decade with multi-disciplinary research teams at Land & Water Australia and authoring two blogs on the elements are highlights and key influences in my career.

Fire has been an ongoing theme across these activities, especially a passion to link science and scientists with on-ground practitioners, the arts, other disciplines and perspectives, policy makers and the broader community. With the climate emergency and underlying causes demanding urgent and forceful responses, forging these links and taking responsibility for our individual and collective actions becomes even more pressing. By sharing my insights and experiences as a ‘woman on fire’, I want to encourage others to reflect, be inspired, consider, engage and act on the fundamental connections that bind us to each other and our planet.