A partnership between Central Coast Council, the Australian Resilience Corps and Disaster Relief Australia will see on-ground disaster resilience action and support at three Central Coast sites.
The sites being targeted, Shelly and Killcare beaches and Kincumba Mountain, will receive on-ground work undertaken by more than 100 volunteers.
The Australian Resilience Corps (The Corps) is a national volunteer network established by Minderoo Foundation and NRMA Insurance, working to grow Australia’s largest resource of disaster resilience volunteers to help communities prepare for fires and floods before they occur.
For the latest volunteer effort The Corps is deploying volunteers across the country to help communities prepare for fires and floods, following a year of successive extreme weather events.
Central Coast Council Director Environment and Planning, Dr Alice Howe, said the initiative is welcomed as it highlights the importance of preparing for natural disasters ahead of time and extends the Council’s volunteering program, which provides opportunities for local residents to become involved in bush regeneration, habitat restoration and enhancing the resilience of the natural environment.
“The 100 volunteers from The Corps are giving their time over a three-day period, working under supervision of trained Disaster Relief Australia personnel, to assist our community to build resilience for future fire and floods,” Dr Howe said.
“The initiative helps add value to the significant ongoing contributions of the 600 plus volunteers already actively participating in Council’s Environmental Volunteering Program.”
Dr Howe said that during their time on the ground at Shelly and Killcare beaches, the volunteers from The Corps have been removing weeds and litter from coastal dunes, to better stabilise and enhance natural dune systems and the biodiversity that they support.
“As with other parts of our community, which have been placed under pressure from various disaster impacts, our dune systems have been placed under significant pressure from coastal erosion,” Dr Howe said.
Dr Howe said that at Kincumba Mountain, volunteers are undertaking maintenance of fire trails, including removal of accumulated sediment, minor reshaping of drainage lines and pruning of encroaching vegetation, as well as removing weeds from areas of native vegetation.
“Kincumba Mountain is a very important asset during natural disasters as it houses a telecommunications tower, which is a vital asset for broadcasting during emergencies.
“It is also rich in biodiversity and Aboriginal heritage sites, which also need to be protected from the threats of natural disasters,” Dr Howe said.
Australian Resilience Corps Project Lead, Nadine De Santis, said volunteers play a pivotal role in helping their communities adapt to, and prepare for, a changing climate and the natural threats that come with it.
“If we can lift the resilience of communities across the country, we can reduce the risk of devastation from another Black Summer Fire or East Coast flooding event,” Ms De Santis said.
“We can’t do this without the help of volunteers.”
Council Administrator Rik Hart said he was pleased Council is a partner in this very important initiative, with extreme weather events happening more frequently and with greater severity.
“We are in total agreement with Disaster Relief Australia and the Australian Resilience Corps that this is the time to focus on resilience to enable communities to break out of the cycle of response and recovery,” Mr Hart said.
“We need to change the culture in our country and make year on year preparation the norm.”
Featured image: Volunteers from the Central Coast Council’s partnership with the Australian Resilience Corps and Disaster Relief Australia working to support on-ground disaster resilience action on the Central Coast. Image: Central Coast Council.
