1. So Jayne, tell us about Cudgegong District and this particular high risk community.
The Cudgegong District is approximately 9,500 square kilometres in size and includes the towns of Mudgee, Gulgong, Rylstone and Kandos. The area has a great diversity of terrain, land use and people. We have many rural residential subdivisions of 25 to 40 acres where the bush fire risk is very high. Riverlea Road is one such area.
Riverlea Road is a dead end road that runs about six kilometres into a valley. There are about 50 blocks of land, with only one way out. The road is dirt, narrow, winding and in several places surrounded by pine trees, making escape from a fire potentially dangerous, if not impossible.
Picture: Map of Riverlea Road (the site of this community workshop)
2. What did you hope to achieve with the workshop?
In 2006 there were several major fires running in the district. One of them was in the hills to the north of Riverlea Road. We held a community meeting with residents at the time. We also ran a well attended workshop there three years ago covering basic bush fire awareness. We knew from these activities that people already had an awareness of the risk of bush fire they faced. We wanted to build on this and work towards getting people to make decisions, take responsibility for their own safety, and actually prepare a Bush Fire Survival Plan.
3. Who was your key target audience?
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| Jayne Leary (District Officer, Cudgegong District). Photo: Jayne Leary. |
Based on our previous activities in Riverlea Road and by working closely with a brigade member who lives in the road, we took a close look at the type of people living there. We knew that they were mostly middle aged or older, retired or semi-retired and generally well educated, financially sound and socially active.
4. How did you advertise and how many people participated?
We decided on a morning tea gathering in one property’s backyard. We have learnt that the personal approach works best. Brian, our brigade member who lives in Riverlea Road, letterbox-dropped an invitation to all residents. He followed up with telephone calls and personal visits. We ended up with 22 participants, which was a great number for us.
5. What were participants asked to do or think about?
We used a map of the area and had everyone mark their property on the map. This reinforced the risks they faced and why everyone’s plan would be different. We asked them to think about what the conditions would be like in the event of a fire and whether they could honestly deal with it. What are they like in a stressful situation? We also asked them to think about the situation if they were not able to leave. If a fire started nearby and they did not have the time to leave or their only road out was blocked, what would their back up plan be?
6. Did any key discussions emerge from the participants? Any myths busted? Did their perception of risk change?
While most of these residents were already aware they were at risk from bush fires, they realised that the level of risk was much greater than they thought. Seeing their property on a map with the surrounding terrain and vegetation and their only road out, was an effective technique. Many had not realised the extent of risk from ember attack and the prolonged attack they may face.
A very common myth busted was that grass fires are of little danger. Many were shocked to learn of the flame heights and speed of grass fires.
Though the preferred plan of many of the residents was to leave early, the realisation that there may be situations where this could not happen, particularly due to their isolated location, prompted a lot of discussion about Neighbourhood Safer Places and places of last resort.
The other really positive outcome was that residents networked amongst themselves, arranging to help each other with preparing their properties, as well as planning to look out for each other in the event of fire.
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| Jayne and community members discuss their properties, Bush Fire Survival Plan, evacuation routes and Neighbourhood Safer Places. Photo: Jayne Leary. |
We sought feedback from participants on the day as well as our own observations.
We aimed to run a two-hour workshop, during which residents prepared their Bush Fire Survival Plans. This actually lasted four hours. We were inundated with questions, all relevant, and walked around the property with participants identifying hazards and positive features. About half of the participants wrote their Bush Fire Survival Plans. Feedback on the day was they learnt a lot and considered it worthwhile. Feedback since then indicates that residents are looking at ways to prepare their properties.
While we had hoped to have everyone complete their plan on the day, in hindsight this was probably an ambitious goal. It was clear however that we did move to a collaborative level with the community by developing alternatives and solutions with them especially in regard to Neighbourhood Safer Places and back up plans. Our challenge now will be to follow up to ensure as many people as possible follow through and complete their plans.
8. Will you repeat this program or follow up with participants?
To use the momentum we have generated, it will be worthwhile for us to follow up with those that attended. We have already made contact with several residents and will continue to do this on an individual basis to ensure as many people as possible complete their Bush Fire Survival Plans and undertake property preparation work.
In the longer term we have a three-year plan for the Riverlea area that includes another workshop next year. Our aim will be to build on our collaborative approach this year and bring residents closer to empowerment.
We have used this same approach in a women’s workshop in another area of the district where Bush Fire Survival Plans were completed on the day. We are working on similar workshops throughout our district.
9. Any tips for community engagement members in other areas? Would this work elsewhere?
Yes, this could work in other areas where there is a level of social interest among residents. The important thing is to tailor your activity to the type of people you are trying to reach and the key messages you are trying to get across.
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| Cudgegong District members talk to residents. Photo: Jayne Leary. |
10. Would you like to thank anyone who helped you devise or deliver the program?
Absolutely! Brian Jewel is a brigade member who lives in Riverlea Road. He worked hard at organising a location and personally invited residents. Brian knows many of the residents, and this knowledge of their individual properties and family situations was really helpful both in getting residents to come to the workshop as well as providing advice on their best options.
The local brigade captain, Col Stubbs, also assisted at the workshop. Col has always been fully supportive of community engagement and his involvement in working with the local residents carried a lot of weight. His knowledge of fire behaviour and local conditions made a real impact.
Our district Community Engagement Team also deserves recognition. Over the last four months we have been working on the preparation and implementation of three-year Community Engagement Plans for our high risk areas. There has been a lot of analysis and brainstorming resulting in activities such as this workshop at Riverlea.
Many thanks to Jayne for sharing your program and insights with us!
If you’d like to share stories of your programs with us, don’t forget to drop us a line at community.engagement@rfs.nsw.gov.au or call 02 8741 5416.
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