January 2010 [13.01.2010]

Wimmera UnitingCare: Remlaw Bushfire ‘Coming Together’ Project
Grant: $20,000
www.wimmera.unitingcare.org.au

The 'Coming Together Project' involved the Haven Community near Horsham which was affected by the Remlaw Bushfire in February 2009. Members of the community, students from Haven and Dimboola Primary Schools and Karkana Support Services worked with local and other artists to create a multimedia and installation exhibition using refuse materials and product specific to the region. Imagery of the fire was supplied by the Haven Centenary Committee and members of the community, interviews were conducted with people affected by the fire and personal relics collected. The exhibition was launched as part of the Wimmera's Awakenings Festival which was held 21-25 October 2009. This grant was awarded from the HMS Bushfires Grants Fund. Other funding partners included: Horsham Rural City Council ($10,000) and UnitingCare Disaster Fund ($45,000).

Project Platypus Association: Protecting Paddock Trees
Grant $79,500 over two years
www.platypus.org.au

Paddock trees form a vital part of the Australian landscape. They stabilise soils, reduce salinity, provide shelter and food for wildlife, provide shelter for stock, sequester carbon from the atmosphere and form an important part of the rural aesthetic. However, paddock trees are rapidly diminishing in numbers and dying because of drought, parasites, soil compaction and bushfire or being removed for agriculture. This project undertook a community education program to support the protection and replanting of paddock trees in the upper Wimmera River catchment. Over the life of the project 4,960m of protective fences were erected and 6,720 paddock trees planted and guarded involving nearly 100 landholders. One of the findings from this project was that group plantings of at least 40 or more trees was more effective than establishing or trying to retain single paddock trees. Other funding partners included the Wimmera Catchment Management Authority ($105,000 over two years).

Emergency Accommodation and Support Enterprise (EASE): Solving the Jigsaw ‘Kids Business’ Documentary
Grant: $26,700
www.solvingthejigsaw.org.au

The Jigsaw program supports teachers to encourage and facilitate grade 5 & 6 students to discuss issues of concern, build self-esteem and improve resilience and peer support. The program is supported by a range of resources and training for teachers. In preparation of the national screening of a new documentary titled "Kids Business - Solving the Jigsaw' on ABC TV, the Trust supported the development of a range of additional resources, media packs, pre-screening events, communications to key stakeholders and media training so that people and organisations who viewed the documentary had somewhere to go for additional information and resources. The documentary reached an audience of 430,000 ABC viewers and over 800 responded to the on-line forum conducted post-viewing. Since the screening of the program, an extensive Kid’s Business Study Guide has also been produced.