Storm and Flood Recovery News

Were you impacted by the severe June 2021 storms and floods?

The Insurance Council of Australia is hosting virtual consultations for Yarra Ranges policyholders affected by the June 2021 severe weather event.

Disaster recovery experts and insurance company representatives are offering free advice for storm-related issues, including dealing with insurance, tenancy, loss of documents and more.

Virtual video or phone consultations are available in 30 minute blocks and is due to take place on Thursday 31 March 2022 from 9am – 8pm.  

• An initial brief chat about your needs and what next steps might be appropriate
• Referrals to support agencies and services
• Information on how to access local services for additional support

The Lilydale and Mooroolbark Pony Club, located in Yering, is jumping for joy after Yarra Ranges Council donated 15 logs from last year’s June storm to the club for use as equestrian jumps.

Yarra Ranges Council has been actively engaging with the community to determine ways in which logs that are too big to be milled can be repurposed to benefit the community into the future.

The new jumps will help ensure the club is offering the best equipment for its members into the future.

Easter school holidays are just around the corner and we've prepared an exciting range of holiday activities.

The Family and Children's Services team are running Seek and Find Nature Hunts, Build your own Bird Feeder sessions and more - a great way to unwind for both you and your child.

Are you running an event to help bring the community together? Would you like to promote it on Council's website? Or are you thinking about organising a community event?

Community events are essential for community recovery and wellbeing after devastating weather events. Community events bring people together to re-connect, support each other and increase mental wellbeing through fun, play and human connection.

There's plenty of useful information on Council's website about how to manage community based events.

Whether it be a community meal, outdoor movie night, art exhibition, tree planting or creative experience you can register your event on the Yarra Ranges Council website.

The State Government has funded Council to provide two Seasons for Growth Programs free for children in Grades 1-4 who have been impacted by the June storms.
 
The program aims to help children understand that they are not alone in their experience of change, loss and grief and to build their communication, decision making and problem-solving skills within a safe and supportive peer group learning environment.
 
The four session program will be led by accredited and experienced facilitators. The sessions will run for two hours on Saturdays from 7 May-28 May in the Kalorama/Olinda area (venue TBC). Places are limited.
 
For more information or to express interest in your child participating, please contact Jess Adams, Community Recovery Officer at j.adams@yarraranges.vic.gov.au.
 

RidgeWalk has had a focus on recovery since the storms of June 2021, which impacted many of the proposed project trails and communities of the Dandenong Ranges.

The project team has worked closely with Parks Victoria to prioritise the clearing of areas with high community usage and continues to support recovery of these areas by incorporating the repair of damaged trails and assets in the RidgeWalk roll out.

RidgeWalk will also collaborate with Parks Victoria to reuse fallen timber within the design of the trails.

The project shares goals with community recovery efforts and commemoration in Kalorama Park. A proposal for artwork and landscape design which recognises the storm event by the community, led by Rescue Logs and other local community members, has great potential for complimenting the RidgeWalk trail as it winds through the park from May Moon track to the Five Ways lookout.

The RidgeWalk team will continue to work with this community project and others to complement and support the artistic collaborations in these much loved areas.

Our Community Recovery teams are excited to be back out on the road again to meet and chat with our storm impacted residents and communities and help provide connections with the people who can support you and your recovery.

If you haven’t been to one of our Community Recovery Hubs on the Road before and you or someone you know has questions, needs information or access to support related to storm recovery, drop in to our next pop-up at the Mount Dandenong Community Parklet near Olinda Pizza, on 5 April from 1pm to 5pm.

Over the last few months, Melbourne Water crews have been working to repair impacted assets in the area, including Silvan Dam. Throughout March this work continues and residents living close to Silvan Dam may notice extra vehicles on the road as Melbourne Water and VicForests remove storm debris. 

Melbourne Water has engaged VicForests who will work under the guidance of Melbourne Water’s local team of ecological and forestry experts to ensure that the long-term ecological interests and biodiversity of the area are maintained.

Yarra Ranges Council is supporting a host of talented artists from Kapi Art Space in their latest exhibition aptly called Still Standing, which focuses on building resilience and wellbeing following the June storm and COVID pandemic.

The Kalorama-based not-for-profit arts organisation is comprised of 32 artists who have worked through their trauma from the past two years to create over 53 pieces of art.

This is one of several Art projects supported and funded by Yarra Ranges Council and the exhibition is running from 4-13 March at Kapi Art Space although some of the art work will continue to be exhibited past this date.