A community social group born from the despair caused by a major bushfire is one of four Western Australian initiatives recognised in the Resilient Australia Awards.
The Gidgegannup Men's Shed was created to help the local community recover following the Wooroloo bushfire, which swept through the area in February 2021.
The facility, open to both men and women, won the Community category in the 2022 national awards.
Resilient Australia Awards celebrate and promote initiatives that help communities rebound from adversity, as well as recognising images that capture resilience in action.
The awards reflect a national focus to support and recognise those unique and special disaster recovery programs and are based on seven main categories - community, business, local government, Government, mental health and wellbeing, school and photography.
The awards are sponsored by the Federal Government in partnership with the States and Territories, and they're managed by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR).
Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson and Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Darren Klemm AFSM presented the WA awards in Gidgegannup today.
Andrew Haselden from the Kalamunda Bush Fire Brigade was recognised through a People's Choice vote in the Resilient Australia Photography Award for his work, Autumn Burning - A Return to Normality.
The Shire of Mundaring's images exhibition, Wooroloo Bushfire 2021 - 12 Months On, won the Resilient Australia Local Government Award.
The joint-entry of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) and Department of Water and Environmental Regulation - Wooroloo Bushfire Coordinated Residential Clean-up Program - won the Resilient Australia Government Award.
The following entries were highly commended in the awards:
- Shire of Nannup for Living with Emus;
- City of Wanneroo team for The Prepare Together Project;
- Department of Communities for their work on Severe Tropical Cyclone Seroja - Community Welfare and Outreach Program*; and
- DFES and the Department of Justice for the Youth in Emergency Services Banksia Hill program.
As stated by Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson:
"Resilience doesn't come easily - bouncing back from disasters can be tough and challenging.
"In recent years Western Australian communities have shown great resilience in the face of incredible adversities, such as fires, storms, floods or cyclones like Tropical Cyclone Seroja.
"The Resilient Australia Awards recognise those initiatives that have helped communities bounce back from disasters and be better prepared in the future.
"I congratulate the winners and those highly commended in the awards for their efforts to deliver initiatives that enhance community recovery."
* Projects jointly funded through the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.
