Restoring Our Bushland Together Hawkesbury
Restoring Our Bushland Together Hawkesbury
Supporting disaster recovery across fire and floods by providing advice, onground assistance, supporting groups, and connecting residents to suppor educational resources and networks.
Capacity to Deliver -
LP042 – 10
The issue
After natural disasters, little information or support for property clean-ups is available to landholders who are not primary producers. Often landholders ask similar questions about assistance for weed management, erosion control, wildlife, and so on. A lack of local groups set up to share knowledge and support properties with environmental recovery left a space for HNLN to assist.
The solution
HNLN applied for and received $16, 000 of funding from FRRR and leveraged an additional $10, 000 to run their project “Regenerating Our Bushland after Fire, Upper Hawkesbury”. The project aimed to increase local community capacity to manage environmental recovery through skill-based workshops and on-ground support.
HNLN was added as a recovery service online, attended Recovery on Wheels meetings for Hawkesbury and Intercouncil Recovery meetings for the other government areas HNLN covers, where all recovery services or agencies join to provide updates on what they are doing, the opportunities available and services they provide. HNLN also attended Recovery Hubs in person.
The impact
HNLN carried out restoration works on four properties and held workshops to improve the community’s capacity to build resilience and restore bushland on their properties, as individuals and as a collective. This included 2 major events, 2 webinars, and 4 half-day workshops across MacDonald Valley, Colo, and Bilpin. A further three workshops were held with and funded in-kind by partner organisations in support of the project. HNLN received approximately 48 inquiries for assistance and information and conducted 20 property visits. In some cases, residents were forwarded to different organisations that could offer support e.g. GSLLS, Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife, Creating Canopies, Habitat for Humanity, and Rural Aid.
With support from the LLC, the Valley for Wildlife group formed and launched, Colo Valley Landcare began running activities again and a Landcare community began forming in Bilpin, which officially formed shortly after the project.
Learnings
It is important to have a physical presence in communities during recovery, even if it means being at a market to listen and talk
Landcare identified different issues and challenges than other recovery organisations and could report them during meetings and feedback sessions on preparedness. This allowed a holistic approach to recovery and resilience.
Non-environmental agencies encounter clients with questions about environment-related issues but do not know who to ask. HNLN can provide support/advice for these recovery agencies as well.
Key facts
- 4 workshops, 2 events, & 2 webinars to increase community skills and capacity
- Landcare groups formed and grew in three focus areas
- 48 inquiries for assistance and information received
- Residents received information, a property visit and/or were reffered to other support
- HNLN and Landcare became recognised as an integral part of community recovery after naturaldisasters