23 March 2018
Resilient Australia Awards - 2017 Winner profile
Recovery after an event like Black Saturday is complex, long, and challenging.
For one Arthurs Creek Strathewen Country Fire Authority (CFA) member the process of recovery kept bringing her back to one point: how do we better prepare our children for fires and emergencies? How do we build resilience in our children?
Lisal O’brien could not keep the thought from her mind and decided that 2016 was the year to action it.
So she paired up with Strathewen Primary School Principal Jane Hayward and the journey began for Strathewen Primary School and the Arthurs Creek Strathewen CFA.
The aim was to educate the students about fire behaviour and the risks of living in a high fire danger area and encourage them to think about ways of reducing and managing these risks.
Drawing on their learning from bushfire education, the students created a short animated film with a Fire Danger Rating (FDR) theme and a behind the scenes film showing the process of creating the animation, sharing the message of preparedness with both a local and wider audience.
Students were empowered with knowledge and have readily embraced their role as educators, sharing their information to assist others in making informed decisions and making choices that keep them safe.
Speaking before the opening of applications for the 2018 awards, Lisal said that the only regret they had was not getting involved in a community resilience project earlier.
“It was great fun and a genuine community building process. We turned it into a special event for us as it was very important that we did it right.”
“The effect it has had on the children has been huge. People think that because it happened when they were three and four years old it goes away- but it doesn’t. Those kids were amazing and we are just so proud that we could use the award to spread the word and continue to conversation.”
“When they got nominated they were so proud of themselves. And then to see their faces when they won, it was just phenomenal.”
Victorians are encouraged to enter the 2018 Resilient Australia Awards, which recognise and promote initiatives that build resilience and inspire others to take action – making communities safer, more connected and better prepared for natural hazards and emergencies.
They are open to all Victorians, including individuals, not for profit organisations, businesses both large and small, local and state government, schools, education institutions, research bodies and emergency management agencies.
Last year a number of Victorian projects were recognised as part of the awards including:
- Scotsburn Community Recovery committee for their Strengthening Community after the Scotsburn Fires project
- Grocon Constructors for the 2016 Victorian Bushfire Clean-Up
- Melton and Wyndham City Councils for the Emergency Ready Communities project
- Strathewen Primary School and Arthurs Creek Strathewen CFA for the Strathewen Education Partnership-Claymation project
- Chanh Huynh for Nature Resilient, a photo captured at Mt Hotham showing nature resilient after the bushfires in the Victorian high country.
Applications are open until 5.00pm on 31 May 2018. For more information and to apply visit resilient.awardsplatform.com (External link)
The department acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.