Helping increase resilience

A NEW project has commenced within the communities of Moorabool Shire that were impacted by floods in October 2022.

The ‘Moorabool Community Resilience Project’ recently launched in Myrniong, Gordon, Mount Egerton, Morrisons, Lal Lal, Elaine, and their surrounding areas.

The project aims to support each community to become better prepared for, and resilient to, future emergency events, building on the resilience locals in those towns have already shown.

Made possible by funding by Emergency Recovery Victoria and Moorabool Shire Council, the project is led by residents, community groups, organisations and schools.

The collaborative effort will help identify ideas, initiatives, and activities to boost community preparedness in response to a range of events that could impact these communities, such as fires, storms, and future floods.

A similar project was undertaken in Blackwood and Korweinguboora last year in response to the 2021 storms.

Some of the initiatives from that project included localised emergency contacts flipcharts, and a successful community emergency preparedness expo.

Moorabool Shire Mayor, Cr Ally Munari, said Council was eager to both support, and listen to, the community as a stakeholder in the project.

“The Moorabool Community Resilience Project aims to strengthen the capacity and capability of communities to manage and adapt to change by building on recent experiences and local knowledge,” Cr Munari said.

“Communities are already resilient in many ways but through this project, there is an opportunity for this resilience to be shared and used by the community collectively.

“Over the coming months, the project team will be guided by each community as to when and where to have conversations and activities with a focus on working with existing community events and gatherings.

“We welcome the opportunity to attend any pre-arranged activity or meeting to introduce the project and learn more about some of the resilience work the communities are already doing.

“We are also keen to hear about some of the ideas they might have and explore how we can help implement them.”

To join in the conversation, or have someone from the project team attend a resilience meeting or event, contact Council’s Emergency Management team on 5366 7100, or on the project’s webpage on the Moorabool Shire Council website.