A new local initiative ‘We Recover Better Together’ has launched in Glasshouse Country to encourage locals to come together and share knowledge and resources to help boost their recovery resilience after natural disasters.
Developed in response to the 2022 floods, this innovative community capacity building project acknowledges that strong and connected communities are able to respond better and recover quicker from natural disasters, and follows on from insights and groundwork established with the Glasshouse Country Disaster Management Network (GCDMN).
The project will provide additional resources into supporting activities and activations for five local towns and their surrounded rural areas. Running from July 2023 through to June 2024, the project team will work alongside community members in Glass House Mountains, Beerwah, Landsborough, Mooloolah and Eudlo to be guided locally about what communities identify as shared needs to better recover from disasters.
Project team member Natasha Odgers, said the five local towns selected had been the most impacted on the Sunshine Coast following the 2022 floods, and continue to be identified as high flood risk areas. She said one of the key aims of the community-led project was to improve and strengthen connections between individuals, neighbours, groups services and government agencies. She said the project was a wonderful way to bring people together and share stories about effective disaster recovery as well as allowing communities to identify what needed to be developed to support these connections.
“This project is a fantastic opportunity for people in Glasshouse Country to be supported to come together, strengthen our connections and think creatively about how we can all further support one another after disasters. This may be through neighbourhood gatherings, collaboration between community groups, community arts projects, business continuity and planning and more,” Tash said.
She said throughout September and October, stalls would be held at local markets, festivals and community gathering spaces for people to come along and find out more, have a chat or get involved in some creative ways of tackling thinking about disaster recovery tips, tools and techniques.
“Our stalls at upcoming events will be an opportunity to get creative with an artist to paint our ideas for how we can recover better together. Bring the kids along for book reading with puppets to help little minds think about disasters, or just come along for some fruitful discussion and give-aways that can be helpful in times of disasters,” Tash said.
Keep an eye out for free training on offer for connecting and strengthening communities and neighbourhoods and the local ‘We Recover Better Together’ stalls, with the team heading along in September to Mooloolah Four Season Market at the Mooloolah Hall on Saturday September 9 (8am-1pm) and Eudlo General Store on Tuesday September 5 (8am-10.30am) and Tuesday September 12 (3pm-4pm).
For more information, contact Natasha Odgers on 0424 240 964 or email natasha@naturalconnections.net.
