Rushworth Youth Take Over finished on a high note in front of friends, family, state representatives and leaders.
Photo by
Jemma Jones
A unique partnership between Forest Fire Management Victoria and Rushworth P-12 students has culminated with students being more engaged with their community than ever before.
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Local leaders, community members and students councillors gathered at Rushworth P-12 College on Thursday, June 13 with the sole purpose of celebrating the end of the Youth Take Over program.
The program, run by CCLLEN, connected FFMV with Rushworth P-12 College and aimed to turn disengaged students into proactive community members by taking them out of the classroom and into the forest to learn about forest fire management.
Throughout term 2, students embarked on weekly expeditions to the verdant conservation area south of Rushworth, guided by FFMV experts.
There, they acquired practical skills in vital areas including forest management, emergency response and environmental preservation.
The event, held the college, celebrated the culmination of the program, with the eight Year 12 students who participated receiving certificates of completion.
Daniel Walsh, teacher of the Year 12 VCE VM class, was “very proud” of how the program has come together.
Student Michael Fung receives a handshake from FFMV operations co-ordinator Terence Roberts congratulating him and his cohort on a successful end to Youth Take Over.
Photo by
Jemma Jones
“This relationship between the school and the community is super important, and it really strengthens that relationship and also equips students with the life skills they need once they complete school,” he said.
“What I witnessed as youth engaging with the community, and it was amazing to be able to see their knowledge come out and their confidence increase.”
The students also presented their findings from the survey they produced about how much the community knows about the role that FFMV plays in keeping them safe.
The student-led survey garnered 38 responses, showcasing strong community engagement, particularly among women (73.7 per cent) and those over 40 (60.5 per cent), with most respondents hailing from Rushworth (65.8 per cent).
Ninety two per cent of respondents said they knew what to do if a bushfire started near them, and 36.8 per cent said they received enough information about FFMV.
Community members expressed a strong preference for modernised communication, with 34.2 per cent advocating for increased social media presence by FFMV, while 18.4 per cent suggested workshops and training sessions to enhance local engagement.
FFMV operations co-ordinator Terence Roberts said the program was a success for the students and the FFMV.
Photo by
Jemma Jones
FFMV operations co-ordinator Terence Roberts said the program, and raising awareness about fire safety among the community, was as beneficial for them as it was for the students.
“This is exactly what we wanted to do in the community … but we’ve never been able to get anything off the ground,” he said.
“We want to immerse ourselves (in the community) more than we are … we don’t really have connections into the towns, so it’s kind of worked out for us.”
He said the unusual partnership was a rarity for FFMV, but something it was looking to replicate following the program’s success.
“(The students) are the only people who have done any work experience with the department in the state at this time … the students were a bit of a trial for some of their policy that they just changed,” Mr Roberts said.
“I think, from all reports, they’re pretty excited about the prospect of doing this again in other places.”
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