Place Shapers – rural places shape up for resilience

Place Shapers ILLUSTRATION

Two successful Council programs are joining forces to support our rural communities with their bushfire preparedness initiatives.

Communities First and Nillumbik Place Shapers will combine in a unique program to assist community members to develop placemaking projects that focus on community preparedness and resilience.

The Place Shapers 2022 program will focus on supporting community members from rural Nillumbik who have creative ideas for activating public space.

Participants will learn how to work with Council to deliver placemaking projects that focus on community preparedness, connection and resilience – helping our rural communities respond to and recover from bushfires and other emergencies.

An information session about the program will be held 7pm – 8.30pm on Tuesday 8 March 2022 at Wadambuk St Andrews Community Centre, for anyone who may have a project idea.

Mayor Frances Eyre said Council was committed to supporting community-led bushfire recovery.

“A clear message from our recent community consultations for the new Council Plan, was our community’s expectation that we put community resilience, sustainability and preparedness at the centre of decision making processes. The importance of involving our community in finding solutions and shaping future vision was another recurring theme,” Cr Eyre said.

The program will explore:

  • Placemaking in Nillumbik
  • Project visioning
  • Process for co-designing projects with community and Council
  • Planning for project action
  • Grant writing opportunities

The Place Shapers program began as a pilot in 2021, with participant feedback highlighting its success:

“It was very comprehensive, organised, well-prepared, fun and useful! I learnt heaps about council processes, grant complexities and the amazing theory behind place making, which I never knew was a thing!”

“This was an amazing program and I am so grateful to have been a part of it!”

We encourage people with accessibility or other support needs to contact us to discuss how we can assist you to participate in the program e.g. wheelchair access, large font size for printed documents, hard copies of program resources etc.

Applications open 9 March and close 3 April, with program sessions running weekly throughout May and June.

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