The 2019/2020 Australian bushfires were a catastrophic event with devastating impact across regional communities. Burning up to 19 million hectares, destroying thousands of homes, and impacting nearly three billion animals, the impact of these fires can still be felt today.
Communities like those in Gippsland, have worked tirelessly through recovery to rebuild homes, livelihoods and habitats. One such community is Buchan, a small town in East Gippsland with a population of 200 people. Despite its size, the town boasts over 35 incorporated associations and groups, reflecting the local communities’ rich interconnectedness and dedication to place.
The volunteerism and commitment of the local community is utterly infectious, says local community worker Susan Freeman. “Their commitment and passion to build back after the fires and support one another has been amazing.”
In the wake of the bushfires, the Buchan community formed an association to support community-led recovery efforts. Working originally with the East Gippsland Shire Council, Susan deepened her knowledge of local disaster recovery efforts and learnt about the various community recovery committees established to help drive this.
“Each of the impacted Gippsland communities had a Place Manager who I provided support to, and Buchan was one of them,” Susan says. “The determination among the communities and Place Managers was incredible. I had never seen anything like it before.”
Since joining the Buchan Gelantipy and District Renewal Association, Susan has supported the delivery of valuable community-centred projects ranging from bricks and mortar through to wellbeing related programs with local outreach. This has included supporting community organisations to progress the redevelopment of the Buchan Recreation Reserve, as well as the construction of the new netball and tennis courts, upgrades to community halls, and the installation of an accessible canoe launch.
It also included repairing and improving two important local halls and establishing a community bus to support the Neighbourhood House, Bush Nursing Centres, Primary School and sporting clubs, to stay active and participate in local life.
“Our work extends beyond physical infrastructure, and with the support of the council and the Gippsland Community Foundation, we’ve organised movie nights, family fun days, barbecues, and Christmas parties to nurture and keep our community together.”
Susan says the Buchan community still has a long way to go, however navigating bureaucracy and funding requirements has made this process more complicated. “The competitive nature of grant rounds and the mismatch between funding availability and community readiness have posed significant hurdles for us.
“The promised government funding wasn’t made easily available to us once we were coordinated and ready to use it. It’s also inherently difficult for us to secure grants that fund administrative wages like myself, and now time is running out. I am looking for any grant available that might be able to help fund this role.
Susan says the funding and support outside of Government grants has been instrumental to their community’s work, with the Australian Business Volunteers offering strategic support and efficient avenues to navigate community-led solutions.
“We couldn’t have achieved what we have for our community without the funding support of non-government bodies such as the Gippsland Community Foundation, Foundation for Rural Regional Renewal and capacity building support from the Australian Business Volunteers.
“I hope that government funding models can be adjusted to better reflect community-led resilience and recovery efforts going forward.”
ABV is pleased to support community leaders like Susan through the Victoria Resilient Regions program implemented in collaboration with Deakin University to help Victoria’s Gippsland region prepare for future severe weather events.
The Resilient Regions program is supported by the Victorian Government.
