Disaster prone town bands together to develop resilience plan

Minderoo Foundation’s Fire & Flood Resilience initiative is working with the small rural community of Millgrove with our partners ResilientCo and the Australian Institute of Disaster Resilience, to support the development and implementation of an actionable resilience plan tailored to their environment.

As one of the top five most vulnerable communities to bushfires in Australia, Millgrove was identified as a ‘must-act’ by our partners and our Resilient Communities team.

Local resident Maureen Halit said, “If we (Millgrove) get the major fires we are going to be in big trouble and we need to be prepared.”

“I think we have to create a larger community awareness atmosphere and letting them (residents) know the danger of the area. They choose this place to live, but don’t quite know the hazards that come with it.”

Working closely with ResilientCo, we have been able to better understand the unique risks and opportunities that encompass this tight-knit community just outside of the hustle-and-bustle of Melbourne.

Managing Director of ResilientCo Brett Ellis stated that they’re seeing the community coming together and connecting so much more. That connection is a key component of resilience.

“Not every plan is going to work for every household or every business, but they need to work through that and look at what their exposure is to that risk and have a plan in place with their family or their workers around how they’ll deal with that particular challenge.”

Minderoo Foundation and partners will be working more closely and productively with community members and stakeholders to guide them on their journey through the Resilient Communities Framework – ensuring that the community is given the proper guidance and access to tools and resources in ensuring their preparedness to natural threats.

Nearly half of Australia’s population lives in regions with a low-to-moderate level of disaster resilience – around 12 million Australians.

Minderoo Foundation’s Resilient Communities Project Manager Jamie Loyd reinforced the importance of how a community driven co-created resilience plan can create more access to funding as it showcases the tool that they’re using for building resilience.

“All parties, from local government to funders to practitioners, can walk beside communities, not in front or behind them, but next to them and support them through their resilience journey.”

Stay tuned for further updates on our road-to-resilience journey with the Millgrove community which will see funding being secured to develop the necessary infrastructure to help the community function, should a disaster happen.