Round 1 funded activities

We received almost 100 applications from organisations and groups in response to the Supporting Communities in Recovery grants program, to assist communities to recover and heal from the 2019-20 summer bushfires. This was an unprecedented response for COORDINARE, and underlies the extent to which communities across South Eastern NSW were impacted by the devastating bushfires.

We were overwhelmed by the creativity and resilience of local organisations who developed projects ranging from sporting activities, to Aboriginal healing and recovery, arts programs, environmental renewal, music and community gatherings.

Congratulations to the following successful recipients, the many grant-supported events and activities are as diverse as the communities represented across our vast region. Most of the funding for the first round of grants has already been received in bushfire affected communities, allowing many initiatives to get underway, and some to be completed. While COVID-19 social distancing has required some activities to be deferred, others have been able to adapt through the use of social media and online platforms.

BEGA VALLEY

Bega Valley Shire Library: Where There's Smoke writing workshops - Host a series of writing workshops designed to help people along the road to recovery by sharing their experiences in a supportive environment.

Bega Multicultural Centre: Workshops in Massage for Home Use - Hold four workshops to teach home based massage therapy to the general community, to help reduce stress, support community wellbeing, resilience, mental and physical health. The techniques are simple and effective and the workshops will provide comprehensive notes with photographs. These workshops will empower participants to help each other deal effectively with stress on a long term basis.

Flip the Script Collective Incorporated: Animation Appreciation Club for Bega Valley Youth - Give young people of the Bega Valley the opportunity to join with friends, family and community members at a monthly meeting, while providing contact with support services providers in a casual setting combined with screening of animation films from around the world.

Wellways: Participant Social Activities - To hold new weekly social activities in conjunction with other community organisations and services, such as fishing groups, gardening groups, art groups, music groups, gaming groups and cooking groups. These social groups will benefit participants through community engagement, sharing post-bushfire stories and feelings and learning skills for recovery and resilience.

Kameruka Cricket Club: Far South Coast Cricket Association RU OK? Community Cricket Day - Cricket NSW and Cricket ACT are supporting the Far South Coast Cricket Association across all levels of cricket across the region from juniors to seniors. This community event will be held for friends and neighbours to reconnect. RU OK?, Black Dog Institute and Rural Adversity Mental Health Program will be represented and other local mental health service providers will be promoted.

Bermagui Preschool: Recovering and reconnecting workshops and support for families - To run ten family workshops and a support group aimed at helping families and staff cope with the impact of bushfires and to develop resilience and strengthen social support networks.

The Crossing Land Education Trust: Bermagui Badja Fire Edge Community Connection - To hold a series of monthly workshops for communities on the edge of the Badja Fire around Bermagui. The workshops will be actively promoted, and delivered by experienced facilitators and trainers, including representatives from the local RFS and SES organisations, and collaboratively share experiences, monitor wellbeing, and identify community concerns and expectations as well as provide information about services and assistance available now and in the future. These workshops will then lead into discussions that develop into joint actions and a collective future vision for the community, focusing on increasing the community’s resilience.

Bega Valley Motorcycle Expo: Bega Valley Motorcycle Expo Community Mental Health Initiative - To hold a community expo that brings together community groups and people of all ages and backgrounds to reconnect and share stories of recovery and hope. The expo provides a wide range of activities including BBQ and local food and coffee vendors, children's activities, fashion parades, motorcycle trade and club displays, displays from Bega Valley VRA & SES groups, and representation from RU OK?, RAMHP, Black Dog Institute, and headspace Bega. The expo provides an ideal opportunity to focus on community mental health issues and community reconnection with services and support to assist in post trauma recovery.

Cobargo Preschool: Art, Music and Storytelling Therapy for Preschoolers and their Families - Offer preschoolers and their families art, music and storytelling sessions to encourage and support the children to explore their feelings, process their trauma, come to terms with the loss experienced, and bring joy back into their lives through self-expression. The artwork produced will be included in an exhibition in a local gallery in September 2020.

Cobargo Community Bushfire Recovery Fund Inc: Cobargo Community Renewal Project - To hold a series of workshops and community connection events that support the Cobargo community to identify and work together on renewal projects, while connecting socially, sharing stories and taking control of their own recovery. These workshops will be held regularly, to maintain energy and motivation and to help realise the successful establishment of community-led actions. With the community taking the initiative in their own recovery, wellbeing and resilience will be built, which will greatly assist in healing trauma. The community will participate in collaborative practices that can continue into the future, and will be instrumental in laying good groundwork for the long-term recovery of the Cobargo community.

Bushfire Recovery – Fire Responder Appreciation Event – To hold a community event to recognise the hard work of the firefighters, with each Fire Response Group receiving the Football Club’s 2020 jersey which is designed around the recognition of the fire heroes in the Eden community. The event aims to get the community together for an afternoon and provide a social gathering with food and an opportunity for the firefighters to talk to each other and community members.

PlayAbility Incorporated: Workshop for staff affected by bushfire crisis - A multi-faceted approach to improve the wellbeing and sense of connectedness within the organisation and in the community, starting with a workshop on understanding trauma, and how individuals can set a program of self-care for themselves and help people within the organisation to support one other.

Eden Community Access Centre Inc: Eden Dance - This project aims to provide a space for people to connect with others through meditative contemplation, dance, conversation, art and other activities to enable participants to practise self-awareness and control with the support of peers and professionals. The free events will be held monthly for six months, after which it is anticipated the project will become self-sustaining. These activities will strengthen social connectedness and emotional wellbeing, as individuals will be able to connect with each other, share stories and support one another to deal with their experiences and emotions. Informal mental health support will be available in the form of practitioners and contacts to support post trauma recovery, as well as contact details for a range of services, including Anglicare, Domestic Violence, Far South Coast Family Support services, and Dept of Communities and Justice.

PCYC NSW: Far South Coast Club (Grant shared across Bega Valley and Eurobodalla shires): School Holiday Programs in Bushfire Affected Communities - Deliver structured activity programs (including bubble soccer, archery and mixed games) in the school holidays in bushfire affected communities of Eden, Bemboka, Bermagui, Mogo, Moruya and Batemans Bay.

Grace Church Bega Valley Inc: Shed Night - Hold a community wide event to bring people together to connect and share stories in a safe non-threatening environment. This will be an opportunity for informal mingling and access to information about local services and how to seek assistance, and will include a guest speaker on post-trauma support.

Bega Valley Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN) Inc: Moving Forward - Increase Mental Health Training Capacity - Build mental health training capacity for the Bega Valley region to better deal with emerging mental health challenges arising from the recent bushfires, through local training and enabling specialist training of local staff as instructors through Mental Health First Aid Australia.

Sapphire Life Opportunities: Merimbula Community Square - A connection point for people who need to access food, clothing, bedding and other physical provisions. The service is run by Sapphire Life Church volunteers, and provides links to resources for physical and mental health recovery for the local community.

The Yoga Humm: Free Restorative Yoga Classes - To offer free restorative yoga classes online (following COVID-19 restrictions), to be promoted from Batemans Bay to Eden and across to Cooma via posters, newsletters, Facebook and Instagram.

Murrah Hall Preservation Association Inc: Food, Music and Dance @ The Murrah - To support the communities across the region through food, entertainment, dancing and focused supportive presentations/discussions from local health/welfare and psychology professionals. Creating a series of popular events increases the likelihood of building and reinforcing relationships and conversations. Printed follow-up and contact material from recognised agencies will also be available.

Pambula Preschool Kindergarten Association: Welcome and Recovery BBQ - A welcome and recovery BBQ to bring the local community together to strengthen community bonds, share stories, reflect on the collective sense of belonging and about how connecting with each other during times of adversity helps support the community's emotional wellbeing.

Edmund Rice Education Australia (Pambula Beach Flexible Learning Centre): Surf and Ride - To attempt to engage, through outdoor activity programs, approximately 100 young people in the Sapphire Coast of secondary school age who are no longer enrolled in education. The program will run 12 surfing/learn-to-surf sessions at local sites, including working with Katungul to target Indigenous young people that have been directly affected by bushfire. A 10-12 session mountain biking program will also be run in a range of different locations based upon needs, ages and abilities of the participants.

PlayAbility Incorporated: Community Drop-in Support Group for Quaama - Run a facilitated drop-in support group to provide a social outlet and a place where members of the community can gather, with scope to bring in providers and support organisations to present and facilitate discussions in areas such as health, legal issues and parenting support.

Towamba Public School P&C Association: Fireflies - Students will create artworks across two school terms in 2020. The first series will investigate the initial responses of the local environment to The Border Fire while the second series of works will involve research in the local environment some months later to identify evidence of change and renewal. The project will culminate in inviting the whole Towamba Valley community to the opening of a gallery exhibition of the art.

Towamba Progress Association: Towamba Meet, Greet and Mend - To offer a series of five separate events (one held every eight to ten weeks) to build community spirit and a sense of belonging, including: (1) Family fun day and non-competitive sports carnival; (2) Music Bingo trivia night; (3) Star spotting with telescope and storytelling; (4) Paintball excursion; and (5) Day walk through Ben Boyd National Park/Green Cape.

EUROBODALLA

Creative Arts Batemans Bay Inc: Postcards from the Fire - Public sourcing and exhibition of photographic images of the bushfire experience to facilitate the South Coast community’s wellbeing and post trauma recovery, not only of the people directly affected but also to expand the broader community’s understanding of the impact of these fires on society as a whole. The exhibition also aims to raise community awareness of the long recovery process.

Muddy Puddles: Stormbirds Disaster Recovery Programs for young people - Deliver approximately 25 sessions of the Stormbirds program free of charge to young people in our community, to provide a safe space for children and young people to give a voice to their experiences and learn appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes to understand and manage the changes brought about by a natural disaster. The program will also allow identification of young people that may need more intensive and ongoing support, and potentially offer outreach to townships within the Eurobodalla where transport may be a barrier, e.g. Moruya, Narooma, Mogo.

The Salvation Army: Summer Holidays Replacement Day - To take bushfire-impacted young people on a fun day trip up to Ulladulla to play tenpin bowls, swim at the indoor pool and share lunch and dinner, to help make up for the 2019-20 summer holiday period that was lost due to the bushfire events.

Age Matters: Elders Cultural Healing Gathering - The Booraja Elders Cultural Healing Gathering will bring together ageing Aboriginal Australians who reside in the community in the Eurobodalla. The gathering is an opportunity for frail and isolated seniors to come together for a community lunch, along with their carers and community members, to build social and cultural connections and link to social services.

Southcoast Health & Sustainability Alliance: The Moos News - Community Communications - Establish a regular 'Moos News’ community news bulletin for the region, to promote community connectedness and resilience through the dissemination of information to improve communication, facilitate social cohesion and break down isolation. It will be distributed both online and in A4 size booklets to engage with older demographics and those in isolated communities where post-bushfire communications are limited.

Surfrider Foundation Ltd Eurobodalla (Grant shared across Shoalhaven and Eurobodalla shires): South Coast Youth Bushfire Relief Surfing Program - To run the 'Swell Program' for youth in four bushfire-affected communities (Conjola, Durras, Malua Bay and Broulee), with the aim of promoting healing and recovery from bushfire-related trauma of the bushfires. Each program comprises a series of six lessons and includes lunches and transport for participants to and from venues. The program focuses on physical and mental fitness, community engagement, positive growth, social inclusion and healthy life choices, and is designed to place at-risk youth together with youth peers on an even playing field to learn new life skills, experience positive and meaningful change and to improve mental health through learning to surf.

Long Beach Community Association: Long Beach Bushfire Recovery Get-Together - To hold a community event with BBQ, dancing and live entertainment from a local band, and information booths with a variety of local and state organisations such as Council, aged services, NSW Health, mental health and other community services. The event will encourage people to renew connections and start new relationships, and promote access to local community support agencies.

Open Harts Inc: Retreat, Reset, Renew – Retreat for Healthcare Professionals – A short residential program aimed to provide health care professionals with an opportunity to engage in focused self-care activities.

The Family Place: Leaf by Leaf Art Therapy Project - Conduct art therapy workshops in Moruya and the Batemans Bay area. Where required, participants will be offered private debriefing space and links to relevant support services. This project offers healing through art, and drawing community together under the guidance of an experienced art therapist and well supported by staff with relevant expertise.

Narooma High School – NAIDOC Week activities – To support a series of culturally relevant activities during NAIDOC Week 2020 for Narooma High School students. The activities will be designed in conjunction with the students’ Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and developed with each year group, and will explore themes that promote Indigenous cultural knowledge and improve cultural awareness across the student body. This inclusive approach to celebrating NAIDOC Week is particularly important this year following the devastating impact of the 2019-20 bushfire season and continuing COVID-related restrictions on Koori community participation in on-campus activities.

Nerrigundah Agricultural Bureau Inc: Community Support Get-Together - A get-together held for the local community and others who supported the devastated areas in and around Nerrigundah. Bringing together the affected community with those whose efforts greatly assisted them will cement existing relationships, develop new ones and ultimately assist the healing process.

Rosedale Association Inc: Return to Rosedale' Welcome Event - Hold events including a community-wide afternoon tea, Landcare ‘weedathon’ and sausage sizzle to strengthen community connectedness, support emotional wellbeing and assist individuals and the community to recover and heal by sharing their experiences. A clinical psychologist will support this process by talking about the effects of trauma.

Tomakin Community Association: Community Recovery BBQ - Host a free family-friendly BBQ event for the Tomakin community and local RFS volunteers and their families, including children’s activities and local Recovery Support groups to provide information of further resources available in the community.

Tuross Head Progress Association Inc: Post-Bushfires Forum / Social Soup Kitchen - (1) Hold a bushfire community forum to examine the impact of the bushfires, evacuations and subsequent power and telecommunications interruptions on the predominantly elderly Tuross community, to enable better planning and preparedness for future emergency situations. (2) Over the cooler months, hold regular soup kitchen get-togethers for older people to build closer community spirit and encourage community engagement.

GOULBURN-MULWAREE

Regional Development Australia Southern Inland: BusSI - To develop an information and services internet hub to support regional communities across SE NSW, comprising a landing page with multiple navigation points, including: Networking; New business/Start-ups; Business growth; Innovation; Funding opportunities; and Mental health supports. Each sub-page will have links to information, services and supports related to each heading. Social cohesion and connectedness will be facilitated through the networking page, including events, online communities and groups for individuals, start-up businesses, agribusinesses, and tourism businesses. The innovation page will have links to local groups looking to collaborate and innovate with other businesses or industries, or funding that is available for businesses wanting to innovate. The mental health supports page will provide information and details for emotional, mental and financial services and support available to assist locals in our regions. The hub will improve the dissemination of information and supports to have the best chance of reaching and supporting the highest number of individuals and businesses in our regions, thereby facilitating our drought and bushfire affected regions in their rebirth, growth and resilience for current and future disasters.

QUEANBEYAN-PALERANG

Araluen Progress Association: Exhibition: Recovering from a summer of drought, fire and flood - Hold an exhibition of photographs and other artworks sourced from locals, which document the impact of natural disasters on the community and enable people to process and share their personal experiences and celebrate an increased sense of mental and emotional wellbeing. A photobook of the works exhibited will be developed for lodgement with the Braidwood Library, and a community mural developed.

Upper Shoalhaven Landcare Council: Landcare Muster - Hold an inspirational get-together with participants from across the 20 local landcare groups, providing an opportunity to connect with like-minded people. The groups will share ideas and knowledge to help post-fire recovery throughout the Upper Shoalhaven and Upper Deua catchment areas and will be addressed by guests such as Budawang Elder Noel Butler.

Braidwood Holistic Therapies: Mongarlowe Mozzies Debrief - Hold a community debrief with support from a local counsellor, including a social get together for Mongarlowe’s 'Mosquito' army which withstood active fire in the area for more than five weeks. The event includes connecting through shared cooking and socialising, children's activities, screen-printing of special 'Mongarlowe Mozzies' t-shirts to promote social cohesion and supportive friendships, recognition through awards, and a viewing of a short documentary film made by those on the fire ground.

Nerriga Progress & Sporting Association Inc: Nerriga Community Reunion - Hold an all-day community event in Nerriga to bring together the community, firefighters and Emergency Services who risked their lives to protect the region during the bushfires. Mental wellbeing information and resource materials will be available at the event which will be a positive gathering where people can celebrate survival stories, support one another and engage with emergency teams who helped defend the community under extreme conditions.

SHOALHAVEN

Bomaderry Community Inc: Community Acts of (not-so-random) Kindness - Deliver a series of free community-led activities to promote human connectedness, foster emotional resilience, support local businesses, and advocate community wellbeing. Events have been designed to appeal to diverse community demographic group, e.g. a community Easter egg hunt, 'Find your mojo' drumming circle, jazz and coffee afternoons, street performers and street theatre, free movie screenings, bush poetry evenings, board games activities, and an Alice in Wonderland-themed garden party with croquet. All events also include support services and information appropriate targeted to each audience.

Budgong Community Group Inc: Community Restoration Project - To hold regular community events every second month to provide support and information in a social setting, to bring the community together to help deal with the devastation and aftermath of the fires. These events will include participation from the RFS and other volunteer representatives and help support improved bushfire preparedness for the community.

Surfrider Foundation Ltd Eurobodalla (Grant shared across Shoalhaven and Eurobodalla shires): South Coast Youth Bushfire Relief Surfing Program - To run the 'Swell Program' for youth in four bushfire-affected communities (Conjola, Durras, Malua Bay and Broulee), with the aim of promoting healing and recovery from bushfire-related trauma of the bushfires. Each program comprises a series of six lessons and includes lunches and transport for participants to and from venues. The program focuses on physical and mental fitness, community engagement, positive growth, social inclusion and healthy life choices, and is designed to place at-risk youth together with youth peers on an even playing field to learn new life skills, experience positive and meaningful change and to improve mental health through learning to surf.

Kangaroo Valley Bushfire Recovery Inc Association: Kangaroo Valley - Stronger Together - To hold (1) a series of events every 4-6 weeks to bring together women of all ages and interests through a variety of group activities to promote connectedness and mental wellbeing; and (2) a community celebration event to launch the new pump track for local children and families.

The Conjola Community Recovery Association Inc: Community Resilience Functions - To hold a series of community gatherings to connect dispersed residents from bushfire affected areas in and around Conjola. These events will include a shared meal and children’s activities as well as focus on themes to assist with the recovery process, including Financial Counselling and Management, Rebuilding Gardens after Fire, Self-Care Workshop and Building Resilience through Art and Music.

Nulladolla Pottery Group: Creative Coastal Appeal - Hold various inter-related therapeutic group art and craft activities, enabling fire-affected communities to come together to use art as a method of release. An art exhibition will be held to raise funds for bushfire-affected people and local charities through the sale of donated artworks, while artistic items of personal significance lost by bushfire-affected people will be replaced with the help of local artisans.

St Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Parish Milton: Rising from the Ashes - Undertake two initiatives: (1) a 'Rising from the Ashes - A Time for Healing' community event at the Ulladulla Civic Centre - with local stalls, a food fair, music, family entertainment, a healing and renewal blessing, and other activities. (2) engaging a Bushfire Disaster Recovery Parish Outreach Minister to facilitate grief, loss, trauma and healing programs/initiatives and coordinate a disaster recovery program for families and others impacted by the bushfires within parish boundaries.

Murramarang Spinners and Weavers Milton Inc: Creating and Distributing 'Love Boxes' to those Affected by Bushfires - Volunteers will purchase and make materials for "Love Boxes", including hand dyed scarves, knitted beanies, natural local soaps and chocolates, 'green harvest' bird-attracting flower seeds, hand turned wooden utensils, and hand written cards painted by local artists. Boxes will be distributed to bushfire-impacted people, and are intended as a morale booster for those rebuilding their lives and provides a lasting reminder that they are not forgotten by their community.

Ulladulla Public School P&C Association: Ulladulla Public School Wellbeing Day - Hold a wellbeing day for the whole school community to connect and build upon its wellbeing and resilience. Community organisations and other services will provide support to assist families and students to recover from bushfire trauma. A range of activities including sporting and art activities will be provided to engage students and their families.

Ulladulla Local Aboriginal Land Council: Weave and Yarn - To enable people to come together and yarn while learning traditional basket weaving techniques in a safe, culturally appropriate manner. Two initial face to face workshops will be followed by weekly online sessions, while footage of the workshops and interviews with participants will be used to produce a short video to be used as a cultural tool in the future.

Ulladulla and Districts Community Resources Centre: Recovery Connections - Engage a dedicated support worker to work with bushfire affected communities in the area to provide support and establish group activities and training.

Sonder Youth Ltd: Changemaker Program for Shoalhaven Bushfire Recovery - Conduct several small groups of young people in bushfire affected communities in the Shoalhaven, providing a space for support, social connection and healing. Participants will be mentored to execute a project of their own design such as short films, murals, tree planting and storytelling aimed at aiding their bushfire recovery, with the aim of empowering them to give voice to their lived experiences of the bushfire season and to connect with their community in a positive way. At the completion of each 10-week course, a celebratory event will be held for the community, at which the project participants will showcase their work.

Milton Therapy and Learning Centre: Bushfire Trauma Recovery for Young People and Their Families - To provide mental health trauma support for young people with disabilities and developmental delays through two approaches: 1. Stormbirds – provides an opportunity for children and young people who have experienced a natural disaster to share their experiences of change and loss in safe and creative ways, understand and attend to their feelings, and learn skills for adapting and recovering. 2. Group Art Therapy Program – an 8-week, small group program covering topics such as: establishing safety and trust, exploring what happened and growth and integration.

National Parks Association NSW, Milton Branch: Discover to Recover - 10 walks in nature - To run a series of ten ‘Discover to Recover’ guided bush walks over the coming year. Each walk will have a theme based on nature recovery, such as recovery of eucalyptus and rainforest, effect of fire on soil, what to replant in the garden, seeds and propagation, weeds and how to deal with them, what will flower in spring etc, all of which will be accompanied by a subject expert. The walks will start with a short presentation on the topic followed by a walk in nature, and conclude with a social morning tea or similar to give the opportunity to discuss the experience and what we have learned and what we can do. The activity is designed to allow people to reconnect with nature, return to physical activity by walking in the bush, gain a sense of control, provide opportunities to connect with others, learn something new and enhance mental health.

Shoalhaven Youth Orchestra Inc: In School String Project - Volunteers will deliver a free school-based violin tuition program in the Shoalhaven across three school terms in 2020. Children can develop their musical skills, connect with each other, utilise musical tools for control and be champions of their emotions, enjoying an activity that involves peers and promotes engagement with the wider community and the improvement of community morale.

Bundanon Trust: We Need to Talk About Fire - A program of activities in response to the 2020 bushfires. It will provide a platform for dialogue about fire across disciplines and communities, bringing together Indigenous knowledge systems, community action, healing voices, scientific evidence and creative and artistic responses.  It will explore our relationship with fire, its history as both a technology and as a significant cultural practice, its contemporary manifestation as a harbinger of catastrophe and community division and as a symbol of our deep fear of the future with a rapidly changing climate.

headspace Nowra: headspace Totem Skateboarding - To hold a series of free skateboarding events / workshops facilitated by Totem Skateboarding in conjunction with headspace staff and Youth Reference Group in various bushfire affected towns. By engaging with young people and their families headspace will use these events as an engagement tool to triage and identify young people who have significant trauma and need mental health support.

Sussex Inlet and District Rugby League Football Club: Bushfire Recovery Community Rugby League Round - Hold a 'Bushfire Recovery' round at the start of the 2020 rugby league competition season, coinciding with junior and senior home games. The club will host a BBQ for all attendees, as well as family entertainment and give-away prizes. This event will help the people of Sussex Inlet feel more connected and supported by their local rugby league club and build on the friendships that are the cornerstone of small communities.

SNOWY MONARO

Bredbo Community Progress Association: Community Recovery Weekly Farmer BBQs - To hold a series of eight weekly BBQs (in conjunction with Blaze Aid volunteers) to bring the community together to help build connection and provide opportunities for affected farmers to engage with the broader Bredbo community as it rebuilds.

Bumbalong Valley Progress Association: My Fire Action Plan Reviewed - This multi-faceted project will give local families a better understanding of fire behaviour, its impact on individual properties and the wider community, improved future bushfire preparedness, and promote local community commitment to the NSW RFS. The ‘Assessing Your Property For Fire’ program will enhance community and individual understanding of fire and how to protect property. Reviewing the pre-fire ‘Fire Action Plan’ for each property with property occupants, and drafting new ‘Fire Action Plans’ as necessary, will enhance people's ability to make more informed decisions in future fire emergencies, while practising basic household first response firefighting actions and first aid will enhance personal confidence around handling fire and associated injuries.

Monaro Family Support Service: Snowy Monaro Parent and Community Events - Expressing Emotions after Bushfires - To run a complementary activity to the Stormbirds Program for children, and a series of open community events aimed at providing parents with tools to support their children and families after a bushfire experience. Sessions will focus on expressing emotions after a fire experience, to promote positive recovery and healing, and will feature information tables by locally available support services, with staff on hand to address enquiries about where and how to seek assistance, especially long term supports past the crisis stage. Each community event will be delivered by two qualified Facilitators, trained in the Parent component of Stormbirds, as well as having experience in directing discussions towards narratives of community resilience. The funding will also be used to cover the costs of the Stormbirds workbooks for children.

Monaro Farming Systems: Men of the Monaro Crop Tours and Ladies of the Land Luncheon - To hold separate activities for men and women to provide an opportunity for farming families to regroup and share their experiences to reduce the mental load stemming from the bushfire event. The 'Men of the Monaro' Crop Tour will visit up to four local farms to inspect crops and talk with a qualified agronomist, as a way to bring men together to socialise, build connectedness, share stories. Similarly, the 'Ladies of the Land' Luncheon will provide an opportunity for women to engage with each other over lunch with a guest speaker.

Barnardos Australia (Southern NSW): School Breakfast Club - To provide a weekly breakfast club at the school during Terms 2-4 in 2020 and Terms 1-3 in 2021, with proactive in-kind support from various partners, including volunteers and activities at each breakfast club from Barnardos (youth caseworker), Council (Youth Development Officer), Jindabyne Central School (2 teachers) and the Country Women's Assn (baking, cooking, serving), and support and information from other local agencies.

Peak View Rural Fire Service: Peak View Post Fire community event - To hold a community wide event to commemorate the impact of the bushfires on the community, thank the RFS, emergency services and other volunteers, and to help support the community to move forward.