Schools in Fire Country enables kids to be agents of change
Upskilling entire communities to prepare for and respond to bushfire in Victoria.
This program has upskilled entire communities to prepare for and respond to bushfire in Victoria.
Living in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, the children who attend St Ambrose Primary School in Woodend have grown up with the possibility of bushfires.
So when school principal Bronwyn Phillips heard about the Schools in Fire Country project, she jumped at the chance to empower students and their families through education and practical action.
Schools in Fire Country is a school-based bushfire education program for Victorian primary students that brings together research evidence with the collective expertise of educators and fire managers.
Initially funded by the Victorian Government Safer Together program, Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) and the Centre, the program equips young people with the knowledge, skills and agency to engage with bushfire risk in their homes, schools and communities.
At St Ambrose, classroom teachers used curriculum-aligned resources to teach students the basics about fire, including cultural burning, fire ecology and fire science.
They were supported by members of Woodend CFA Brigade, who shared their subject matter expertise and took the student on a local excursion to learn more about how fires start, spread and what they can do to mitigate local risks.
Groups of children then undertook projects related to different facets of fire safety. They presented these at a brigade open day attended by more than 200 people and a school showcase attended by more than 500 people. One student ran an emergency management drill for the entire school population.
Ms Phillips says the children also became powerful agents of change as they spread the word to their families.
By the end of the program, most school households had developed a bushfire plan, had a bag packed with essential items, and knew exactly what their job was if they needed to evacuate, she says.
‘Children were drawing evacuation maps and actually working with their parents to have a very clear and understood plan in place, which most of the families didn’t before. Now they’ve got a carrier for the cat, they know whose job it is to get the guinea pigs and how to leave their house safely,’ she says.
‘One of the real positives was how empowering it was and how positive the students were, especially for those whose anxiety is ignited during fire season.’
Neil Munro, Project Lead for Bushfire Education at CFA, agrees that Schools in Fire Country has impacts beyond the children who complete the program.
‘There are tremendous ripple effects of these collaborations with schools. The students can influence peers, their family, and share their learning with the broader community. Brigades often comment about how local people have improved their property preparation immediately after the program,’ he says.
Schools in Fire Country has been embedded into the teaching program of over a dozen Victorian primary schools, while further funding from the National Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Ready Fund is supporting incremental expansion across Victoria.
The team is now working with the Victorian Department of Education and emergency management agencies on options for longer term implementation in Victoria, Mr Munro says.
For more information about the program or to make an enquiry, visit the Schools in Fire Country website.
Watch a video about the St Ambrose experience.
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