Celebrating five years of community-led disaster resilience in Eurobodalla
Five years on from the devastating 2019-20 bushfires, Fire to Flourish disaster resilience model has strengthened Eurobodalla’s disaster resilience through increased community connection, leadership and Indigenous knowledge sharing.
The Fire to Flourish Eurobodalla community team has delivered $2.75 million in grant funding to support 101 local projects that have boosted the community’s capacity to respond to and recover from future disasters.
The achievements were acknowledged last night in a moving celebration at the Fire to Flourish Eurobodalla Showcase and Community Awards in Mossy Point.
The program has demonstrated the impact of community connection, leadership and Indigenous knowledge sharing.
Among the award winners were Raymond Smith’s Young Men’s Active Program, which has helped to connect youth with local Aboriginal mentors to share knowledge and build community networks.
Other winners included Jamie Clout’s Walawaani on Wheels (WOW), a bike library and maintenance service providing young people with the opportunity to enjoy local trails, and Sam Fletcher’s Rock On for Climate Action, a showcase of local music bringing people together to reduce the impacts of climate change on local communities.
Fire to Flourish Chief Executive Officer, Professor Briony Rogers said Eurobodalla has proven the power of community connection in disaster resilience and recovery.
“Our disaster management systems in Australia are not set up to respond to the increasing frequency and severity of disasters in our changing climate,” Professor Rogers said.
“By equipping communities as willing and capable leaders in disaster preparedness and recovery, we can ensure a far better standard of long-term resilience.
“The way we have seen the Eurobodalla community come together under the Fire to Flourish model with great success demonstrates the powerful opportunities that are created when systems are reimagined to centre community voices, experiences and leadership.”
Fire to Flourish’s 2024 Impact Report provided evidence that the Eurobodalla team have achieved transformative impact across three disaster resilience domains:
- Social capital: Enhancing community connections and collaboration, and building leadership and skills through training and project support.
- Natural environment: Supporting local sustainability efforts, bushfire preparedness and habitat restoration, including integrating sustainable practices into everyday community life.
- Indigenous culture: Honouring and amplifying Indigenous voices, including facilitating two-way learning, enabling Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge sharing, and building mutual respect.
Fire to Flourish Eurobodalla community lead Kizzy Nye said the success of the program is a testament to the collaboration and dedication of community members.
“We’d like to thank the community of Eurobodalla for their trust, knowledge and passion to work with us in creating lasting community connections and resilience that will continue to flourish,” she said.
“Our Showcase is about celebrating the power of community and connection, and some of the incredible people and organisations we’ve partnered with along the way.
“The community mentors were the backbone of this program and we couldn’t have achieved what we’ve done without the support of everyday people who live in the community, who strongly believe in the power of community self-determination and community-led disaster resilience.”
With its proof-of-concept work complete, Fire to Flourish is now exploring partnership and funding opportunities to continue enabling communities to lead their own disaster resilience.
