Let's Talk About the Weather community events a success

Published on 22 November 2024

More than 120 people attended two free community events held during the past two weeks as part of the Let’s Talk About the Weather program.

Gannawarra Shire Council, Make a Change Australia and various local partner organisations have spent the past four months working on the program, which aims to facilitate a community-wide discussion about the impact of extreme weather events on residents and communities and prompt new ideas, solutions and approaches for the future.

As part of the final element of the program, a Positive Green Spaces lunch occurred at the Grow Collective Community Garden, established by the Kerang Baptist Church, on Wednesday, 13 November, with the Big Cohuna Stockyard hosting a Living with Water dinner on Wednesday, 20 November.

Both events featured headlining guest speakers, including Gardening Australia presenter and author, Millie Ross, who spoke at the Kerang lunch, and Agriculture Victoria seasonal risk agronomist, Dale Grey, who presented at the Cohuna dinner.

“It was amazing to see good attendance figures at both events, which enabled residents to gather, discuss the impact of extreme weather events on our communities, learn something new, and develop community-wide solutions to better plan and prepare for the future,” Council Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Rollinson said.

“Millie shared her gardening wisdom and her energy and philosophy on life. Fellow presenters, Claire Fry from the Kerang Neighbourhood House and Angela Hird from Kerang Landcare, inspired those who attended the Positive Green Spaces lunch to cultivate green spaces, contribute to the community through volunteering, adapt backyards and communities with native plants, and establish green corridors.

“Dale’s insight into historic weather patterns and being able to use these to forecast future outcomes was a highlight of the Living with Water themed event. Other presenters were local farmer, Jo Bear, who shared her lived experience of living and farming on the Loddon River flood plain, and Agriculture Victoria’s Dale Boyd highlighting his expertise on utilising technology to monitor soil moisture for effective farming.”

Residents can continue to share their thoughts, experiences and ideas on the weather, its direct impact and local solutions via the online survey available at www.surveymonkey.com/r/wdyr-gannawarra up until Saturday, 30 November.

“All information provided by community members throughout the Let’s Talk About the Weather program will be collated and provided back to the Council and the community to help further develop local solutions to the challenges of extreme weather events,” Mr Rollinson said.

The Let’s Talk About the Weather program is an initiative of the Gannawarra Community Resilience Committee and supported by Victorian and Commonwealth Governments under the Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA) as part of the Gannawarra Community Flood Recovery Program.

TOP: Gardening Australia presenter and author, Millie Ross was the headline speaker at a Positive Green Spaces lunch, held as part of the Let's Talk About the Weather program.