A community-based bushfire prevention partnership in District 27 has reached a significant milestone.
The community work partnership between CFA Vegetation Management Program and Gippsland Community Correctional Services carries out bushfire prevention and fuel management in some of the District 27’s high-risk communities.
This partnership recently delivered more than $1 million of labour in kind, providing highly-valued fuel management and bushfire prevention outcomes for CFA brigades and the community.
District 27 Vegetation Management Officer John Crane, who set up the partnership, has worked closely with Corrections Victoria for several years.
“These Bushfire prevention work teams have undertaken a significant amount of work,” John said. “As a result our brigades have been provided with high-quality fuel reduction burn control line construction and fuel management treatments, allowing them to significantly increase their capacity to deliver FRBs in targeted areas.
“it’s extremely gratifying to report such a great outcome and showcase two government organisations working collaboratively on key local issues.
“This work increases our firefighter safety at planned burns and increases our capacity to control burns in challenging high fuel load areas.
“The ability to provide such a significant volume of fuel management work at no cost to the community is a highly commendable outcome of this valuable partnership.”
The partnership has grown to include a second work team working across East Gippsland. Building on this success John and Gippsland Community Correctional Services – Community Work Team’s partnership liaison Gary Monington, have initiated plans to further develop work teams in District 9. These will include female and culturally-specific opportunities as part of a long-term plan.
“We’re not going to slow down,” continued John. “We have an excellent opportunity to provide bushfire prevention to our communities while supporting Corrections Victoria in their critical community role.
“At the same time we’re engaging with a broader section of our community about bushfire prevention. This $1 million milestone is an opportunity for us to celebrate, but more importantly to focus on how we can build on these successes.”
“I would also like to thank Gary Monington for his dedication and ongoing commitment to achieving this quality outcome. Gary is passionate about local communities, building meaningful partnerships that benefit participants and inspire innovation and diversity. His high-level professional approach to stakeholder development ensures long-term sustainability to key initiatives such as this.”
