With six, free online modules, the Australian Resilience Corps is training individuals and communities to prepare for natural disasters.
Story Ken Eastwood
On New Year’s Eve 2019, as fire devoured her husband’s family house and property at Mogo, NSW, Nadine De Santis cried out in desperation. “It was one of the only times my deal with God worked,” she says. “I said, ‘You get me out of here and I’ll do something about it’.”
Nadine is now the project lead for the Australian Resilience Corps, which aims, over the next three years, to reduce the harm caused by fire and flood. “When an event happens, it’s out of your control and it’s not usually at a time that suits. So, when we were setting up the Resilience Corps, we said, ‘Let’s not fight the fire and react to the flood, let’s prepare for it, so we can mitigate and minimise what it’s going to do’.”
Already, 2,000 people have signed up to the corps, which falls under the remit of the Minderoo Foundation’s Fire and Flood Resilience Initiative. (The Minderoo Foundation was set up by R.M.Williams owners Andrew and Nicola Forrest.) Most volunteers have completed the six, free online training modules to prepare themselves and their communities for natural disasters. Each module takes about 20 minutes to complete. They include information on preparing your property, landscape management, disaster resilience and mental health.
This story excerpt is from Issue #143
Outback Magazine: June/July 2022
