An army of volunteers will get their hands dirty on 5 December to help reduce bushfire risk in Millgrove.
It’s predicted that 45 to 60 volunteers will take part in a clean up effort organised by Disaster Relief Australia and Millgrove Residents Action Group.
Millgrove Residents Action Group (MRAG) president Maureen Halit said the effort would boost Millgrove’s resilience to natural disasters.
“It’s all about building resilience in the communities and townships and hopefully connecting with the community and keeping them safe,” Ms Halit said.
The clean up starts at McKenzie King Bridge and follows along Ronald Grove, which borders the Yarra River.
Ms Halit said the area was a bushfire concern because the shrubbery wasn’t maintained and posed a prominent risk for fuelling a fire.
“It’s very overgrown, a total fire danger and it backs onto some of the residences in Ronald Grove so it’s a major concern there.
“Should a fire get in there, it’d be no time until it was up in the Warburton area. Who knows which way the wind blows, but most likely it would head up the middle Mount Little Joe area and then over and up into Warburton.”
MRAG was approached by Disaster Relief Australia (DRA), an organisation that unites the skills and experience of veterans and other dedicated volunteers to help communities prepare for and recover from disaster.
Ms Halit said she was honoured to be approached by an Australia-wide organisation such as DRA and its available resources would make a huge impact to the town.
“We’re very fortunate that we’ve been able to take this journey with them, we’ve learned a lot and are still learning and meeting some amazing stakeholders and companies.”
DRA contacted MRAG through The Resilience Canopy, another organisation which provides communities with the skills and frameworks they need to adapt to disasters.
Ms Halit said in today’s world, families lead more isolated lifestyles which has eroded community ties over the years.
“People kind of live in their own little triangle now, and they go to work, come home, go to sport, do whatever.
“Everybody is so busy and they become a little bit isolated
“It’s great that anyone can take this opportunity to join The Resilience Canopy to create and build a stronger community within itself.
“It’s a long journey and it’s a pretty hard journey at times, but it’s certainly well and truly worth it,” Ms Halit said.
For those who are interested in joining the clean up effort on 5 December, call Maureen Halit on 0436 341 603.
