Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: The role of volunteer emergency groups

20 minutes

Find Out: Charmaine’s Crew

25 minutes

Take Action: Media post

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions and success criteria

Students will

explore the role of volunteer emergency community groups in building resilience and cohesiveness
discover the Lake Tyres Aboriginal Trust (Bung Yarnda) fire crew and explore their contribution to their community.

Students can

explain how and why the Lake Tyres Aboriginal Trust (Bung Yarnda) fire crew (‘Charmaine’s Crew’) work together and contribute to their community
analyse media representations of the crew and the flow-on impact this has on community resilience
create a media post about a First Nations volunteer group, taking into account representation and the impact this has on community cohesiveness.

Tune In: The role of volunteer emergency groups

Ensuring psychological safety and inclusivity:

Before beginning this lesson, it is essential to account for the experiences of any First Nations students in your class. It is important not to isolate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in how the material is taught. Some First Nations students may have important insights or contributions which should be welcomed. However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students should not be expected to contribute any more than other students.

Step 1

Begin with a discussion prompt:

When you think of community volunteer groups who help out in times of emergencies, such as a fire or flood, who comes to mind? What people or organisations do you think of, and why?

Allow students to share their thoughts and make a list on the whiteboard. Answers might include the SES, their local fire agency (e.g. CFA in VIC, CFS in SA), or the Australian Red Cross, or WIRES Australian Wildlife Rescue Organisation. Probe further to encourage students to identify ‘who’ they think/know volunteers with these types of organisations. This is to challenge their preconceptions and assumptions about the type of person who may come to mind.

Step 2

Divide students into small groups for a think-pair-share. Ask them to brainstorm and note answers to the following questions on their Student Worksheet:

What do fire, flood and emergency service organisations do?
What do you think voluntary emergency service organisations’ work contributes to their local communities? (If students are struggling to answer these questions, guide them to the websites).
How are volunteers in these emergency service organisations portrayed in the media? List adjectives to describe these representations.

Step 3

Invite students to share some of their ideas. Answers might include/elicit:

providing training and resources for disaster resilience to help individuals and communities prepare for emergencies like floods, storms or bushfires.

encouraging community participation through volunteer programs helps strengthen community bonds/relationships, a sense of belonging and a shared purpose.
collaborative planning and preparedness: working with other local organisations and authorities to develop emergency response strategies that involve community input and support. For example, ensuring communities, businesses and utility providers (e.g. power and water) in bushfire-prone areas are well-informed about bushfire risks and incorporating bushfire protection measures and preservation of the environment.
words used to describe how volunteers are portrayed in the media: ‘hero’, ‘selfless’, ‘community minded’, ‘caring’, etc.

Literacy extension: you may want to introduce/concept-check key vocabulary relevant to the rest of this lesson.

Resilience: The ability of a system, community or society exposed to hazards to resist, absorb, accommodate, adapt to, transform and recover from the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner. Source: AIDR
Cohesiveness: the quality of sticking together, uniting or working together effectively.
For more disaster-related vocabulary, see this glossary.

Find out: Charmaine’s Crew

Step 1

Outline to students that we’re now going to look at a video case study of a volunteer CFA group and how they’ve been represented in the media.

Charmaine Sellings | La Trobe University Distinguished Alumni Award winner, 2020 - (youtube.com/watch?v=TqnQovrgf38)

Step 2

After watching the video about Charmaine’s Crew, ask students for their initial thoughts on how Charmaine Sellings and her fire crew have been portrayed - what first comes to mind? Invite students to add any more ideas to the questions they answered on their Student Worksheet in the previous activity. Try to elicit answers about contributing to local communities through cultural preservation, protecting First Nations peoples' cultural heritage, and valuing and incorporating a diversity of knowledge and expertise with disaster prevention strategies.

Step 3

Explain to students that we‘ve learnt how Charmaine’s Crew contributes to their local community. Now, we’re going to look at the crew’s role in building community resilience and cohesiveness and how it has been represented in the media.

Divide the class into groups to run a jigsaw activity. Allocate each group as ‘social’, ‘environmental’ or ‘economic’. Explain to students that in their groups, they need to answer the next set of questions on their Student Worksheet, using the article provided (Victoria's only all-Indigenous fire brigade creating a safer place to live: abc.net.au/news/2018-07-08/victorias-only-all-aboriginal-fire-brigade-at-lake-tyers-trust/9934884).

Literacy extension: Before responding to the first question, you may need to recap or clarify with students the meaning of:

Socially - relates to people or society in general
Economically - relates to money or resources
Environmentally - relates to surroundings (natural or built) and the impact of human activity on its condition.

According to the article, how does Charmaine’s Crew build community resilience socially/economically/environmentally?

Social resilience	Economic resilience	Environmental resilience
Suggested answer: Charmaine's Crew fosters a strong sense of local engagement and safety. The formation of the fire brigade led by members from within the community means that residents are proactive in safeguarding their own area, including culturally significant sites, which strengthens community bonds and trust among residents.	Suggested answer: The brigade protects local property and reduces the frequency of fire outbreaks, safeguarding local assets. This protection prevents potential economic losses from fire damage and reduces reliance on external emergency services, which could be costly and less responsive due to distance.	Suggested answer: The brigade's efforts to preserve culturally significant sites and natural resources strengthen environmental resilience. They educate other fire brigades on the importance of these sites and promote sustainable firefighting practices that consider environmental and cultural impacts.

How does this piece of media portray the fire crew? Are they supporters or critics? Hint: pay attention to the language choices for adjectives and adverbs.

Suggested answer: The media portrayal of Charmaine’s Crew in this article is supportive. The use of adjectives like ‘important’, ‘encouraging’ and ‘successful’ alongside the narrative of empowerment and proactive change underlines a positive representation. The article emphasises their significant role in transforming fire management of their Country within their community, and in educating others on cultural preservation.

Assess the impact that this kind of media representation would have on community cohesiveness.

Suggested answer: The positive portrayal of the brigade in the media is likely to significantly impact community cohesiveness and resilience. By highlighting Charmaine's Crew's success and proactive nature, community members are likely to feel pride and trust in their brigade. This, in turn, encourages more community members to engage with and support the brigade, fostering a sense of community spirit and collective resilience. Furthermore, acknowledging the brigade's role in cultural education and protection helps reinforce the community's cultural identity and heritage - crucial for long-term resilience and solidarity. This kind of representation not only boosts agency but also serves as a model for other communities, potentially leading to broader societal impacts on how First Nations-led (and female-led) initiatives are perceived and integrated into regional and national frameworks for disaster management and community protection.

Step 4

Once the students have answered their questions, reorganise the class into new groups so each group has a member with an answer about socially, economically or environmentally building community resilience. After groups have shared their answers and completed the rest of their Student Worksheet, invite the class to share their responses (see above for example/suggested answers).

Extension opportunity: You could ask further probing questions to cater to differentiation.

How does the involvement of First Nations peoples’ perspectives in firefighting strategies specifically contribute to the preservation of cultural heritage in Gunaikurnai country?
In what ways does the Lake Tyers Aboriginal Trust (Bung Yarnda) CFA brigade influence the broader community's perception and involvement in fire management?
Consider the long-term implications of the brigade's work on young people in the community. How might growing up in this environment influence their future contributions to community safety and cultural preservation?
Compare and contrast media reporting of Charmaine’s Crew using this article (‘Meet Charmaine Sellings of the now-famous firefighters from Lake Tyers Australia’s first all-Indigenous, all-female fire brigade’ gippslandia.com.au/articles/charmaine-sellings).

Take Action: Media post

Step 1

Explain to students that they are going to identify and research another First Nations group that is contributing to community resilience and cohesiveness. It doesn’t have to be an emergency services group, like the SES or CFA, and if possible, encourage students to choose a group that they have a connection with, whether it is celebrating a group from their own culture or a group whose work will have an impact on something they value. It’s recommended that students form groups of 2-3 members.

We have provided some sources for you below if researching local groups isn’t an option:

Title	URL
Indigenous Rangers Program	https://www.niaa.gov.au/indigenous-affairs/environment/indigenous-rangers-program
Red Cross builds connected and safer First Nations communities ahead of disasters	https://www.redcross.org.au/media/releases/2023/first-nations-communities-partnership/
Girringun Aboriginal Corporation	https://www.girringun.com/
Jagun Alliance	https://www.jagunalliance.org.au/
Creative Recovery Network	https://creativerecovery.net.au/resources/?_case_study_categories=first-nations
The Mayi Kuwayu Study	https://mkstudy.com.au/
Seed	https://www.seedmob.org.au/

Step 2

Once students have chosen their group, instruct them to create a short social media post using the Coologram Template provided.

Step 3

Outline to students that their post should highlight and celebrate their selected group’s contribution to their local community’s resilience and cohesiveness. Remind students to pay close attention to how they are representing this group and the impact this representation can have on their work in their local community and in wider Australian society. Encourage students to write approximately 100 words (or less) only.

Step 4

Invite students to share their posts.

Extension opportunity: If possible, students could contact their group and ask permission to have their posts shared on your school community’s social platforms. They could also offer for their posts to be used on their group’s social channels or website.

Reflection

What are some different levels of resilience? Students might suggest individual, family, community, national or across humanity.

Once they have identified a series of different levels (which might be different to those listed here), ask students to spend five minutes thinking about their own personal contribution to those different levels of resilience. To help frame the exercise, they might like to think in terms of something they have already done and something they could do in the future (e.g. at a National level, something they have done: fundraised for bushfire relief; something they will do: vote).

Building Community Resilience

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