News

Resilience in focus at training

By Emily Donohoe

Aug 7, 2025

Goulburn Murray Community Leadership programs co-ordinator Kimberley Chu and participants Maree Harris, Sarah Griffiths, Phoebe Dillon and Stacey Dick at one of the in-person training events. Photos: Jordan Townrow. Photo by JORDAN TOWNROW

An engaged group of learners collaborated at the Goulburn Murray Community Leadership and The Resilience Canopy’s practitioner training.

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Across four sessions, participants were taught skills to guide their communities through challenges such as natural disasters.

On Wednesday, July 30 and Thursday, July 31, the group met in-person at Bendigo TAFE, Echuca.

Facilitator Maree Grenfell, with Layton Miller, Nat Durrant, Jenny Weeks, Phoebe Dillon and Maree Harris, who focused on the dairy sector for their community group focus. Photo by JORDAN TOWNROW

Facilitator Maree Grenfell said she was happy to work with attendees, who came from a range of backgrounds.

“There seems to be so much passion in this group to want to work with diverse communities to really support a community-led process for building community resilience,” she said.

“Everyone's really interactive and very engaged.

“We have so many different sorts of community groups that are really attracted to this training, people from agricultural sectors, people that are working with young people.

“I feel the diversity of the group really adds to the collective knowledge, so everyone actually leaves with so much more than they came with.”

Facilitator Marie Grenfell discusses a case study of the training skills put into practice. Photo by JORDAN TOWNROW

Among the learners was Committee for Echuca Moama administration assistant Natalie Durrant.

“I figured that this sort of training can only be beneficial,” she said.

“We’re an advocacy group, obviously if we can help people wherever they need to be helped ... that is awesome.”

Fellow participant Renee Pichler said she enrolled in the course as she was interested in maintaining a supported community as her town of Kyabram grew.

“I would like to learn how to facilitate community connection,” she said.

“Kyabram is a growing town, and to keep that small-town connection going as we grow.”

Using food insecurity as their case study were Renee Pichler, Sage Wiltshire and Leanne Pattison, pictured with facilitator Martina Holland. Photo by JORDAN TOWNROW

As part of the program, the group split into three and picked a community or challenge to focus on, putting their new skills into practice.

They chose the dairy sector, food insecurity and the town of Nurmurkah.

“It’s been amazing, and opened our eyes to how to engage with that community and help facilitate them solving problems,” participant Sage Wiltshire said.