Winner, Resilient Australia National School Award, 2023

Harkaway Primary School, Victoria

Is there something so important to learn that we have to change the way we teach? At Harkaway Primary School we believe there is. Child Centred Disaster Risk Reduction (CCDRR) is growing in relevance around the world, with the effects of climate change and urban expansion exposing children to more frequent and devastating natural hazards than ever before.

We have worked to rewrite the teachers manual. Harkaway students have collaborated with fire agencies, educators and experts to help design, develop and test new approaches to CCDRR. Imagine a classroom where the learning can change your life! Children can play a vital role in reducing the risks in the spaces where they live, learn and play.

The Harkaway Bushfire Safety Committee have developed a manifesto, educated university students, presented at conferences and assisted in the development of a research-informed approach to bushfire education. 

Finalist, Resilient Australia National School Award, 2023

Port School, Western Australia

The Port School 'Resilient and Ready' program equips young people from vulnerable communities with the necessary skills to understand and engage with the growing risks and impacts of disasters. By enhancing their resilience, response, and recovery abilities, the program empowers them to actively contribute to reducing disaster risks and impacts. It exposes participants to the roles and responsibilities of volunteering in emergency services organisations, augmenting the community's ability to respond to disasters. The program imparts essential qualifications in fire extinguisher training and first aid and cultivates valuable soft skills such as leadership, communication, problem-solving, and empathy. Ultimately, the program equips young individuals to effectively deal with disasters and support their friends, families, and wider communities in preparing for and managing disaster situations.

Winner, Resilient Australia National School Award, 2022

Tropical North Learning Academy Smithfield State High School, Queensland

The Cairns region is a beautiful, tropical area: however it is extremely vulnerable to disasters and the increasing effects of sea level rise and climate change. ‘Cairns in Your Hands' is about empowering the youth of Cairns through geographical inquiry and 21st century thinking skills, to develop a coastal hazards adaptation plan to ensure the future of their city. It's about creating the opportunity to gather gifted and talented and passionate students together from different schools in one place over four days, to develop real world authentic solutions to the greatest threat Cairns faces.

Winner, Resilient Australia School Award, 2021

In 2020, Pimlico State High School, like the rest of the world was forced to adapt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This disaster highlighted that schools are more than just bricks and mortar. The school used learnings from the 2019 Townsville floods about the importance of wellbeing and resilience to foreground its response to the pandemic. We used the pivot towards online learning as an opportunity for innovation in teaching and learning and explored multiple opportunities to maintain student connection to the school community through student voice and continuing extra-curricular opportunities. As the pandemic evolves, the school has maintained a focus on sustaining our innovative work “Beyond COVID-19.”

Highly Commended, Resilient Australia School Award, 2021

St John’s School believes well-being and resilience are key in setting students up for educational and life success in times of hardship and drought, sadly an ongoing reality in its region of Australia. The initiative started in 2018 with a yearly Wellness Week project, a week-long event designed to effect change by educating and empowering the school community to be resilient.

In 2021, the focus was mental health, starting with the theme “it’s okay to have a blue day” then shifting to resilience and building strategies to bounce back. Activities targeted mental health, physical health, connection, and kindness, as research finds these elements can improve mental health and resilience in times of adversity. To maintain momentum the Resilience Project promoting gratitude, empathy, mindfulness, and emotional literacy, was introduced across grades 7 to 12 in 2020 and extended to include all students from prep to grade 12 in 2021.

Highly commended, Resilient Australia School Award, 2020

The Timboon P-12 School in Victoria links with the local community through the Timboon Agriculture Project and creates champions for effective school-industry engagement among its staff, families and community. In 2019, the annual celebration of the school’s curriculum focused on volunteering through the theme: Step Up!

Students were introduced to the gamut of volunteering in all sectors across our community. The expo was followed by age-tailored workshops for students and community visitors to continue this engagement and learning about the roles of emergency services volunteers and the training activities and technologies they use.

The workshops  reinforce the importance of community connections, demystify emergency personnel, build relationships based on trust and appreciation, and encourage new volunteers.

Winner, Resilient Australia National School Award, 2019

A program born out of Black Saturday, which destroyed Strathewen Primary School in Victoria.

Strathewen Primary School, in collaboration with members of the local Country Fire Authority, take annual excursions, camps and community activities to strengthen the students' resilience and understanding of the risks posed by bushfires.

Highly commended, Resilient Australia National School Award, 2019

Tathra Public School showcased their resilience through words and imagery after the devastation caused by the March 2018 bushfires destroyed almost 70 homes in their town.

Tathra Public School students produced a picture book, When the Fire Met the Sea, written and illustrated by students at the school after the March 2018 bushfires.

The school was in the direct line of the fire front, which burnt trees, ash-smothered classrooms and destroyed the school playground.

The book features poems, stories and vivid artwork about the students’ experiences during the fire and is a historical reminder of their resilience. A copy of the book is in the National Library of Australia in Canberra with other copies available for sale to raise further funds for the school.

Highly commended, Resilient Australia National School Award, 2018

Warrimoo Public School and Warrimoo Rural Fire Service Brigade, New South Wales

Warrimoo Public School and the local Rural Fire Service brigade partnered to equip over 150 students with bushfire safety knowledge, skills and values. The project enhanced community awareness of the school as a safe place for students during a bushfire event. Together, the school and brigade host the annual Rural Fire Service Get Ready Weekend, promoting preparedness and resilience throughout the community.

“I feel a lot more prepared for fires and the sessions have definitely widened my knowledge.”

Charlotte, senior student, Warrimoo Public School

“At home I told my family and we made an escape plan. They thought it was a good idea that we were having lessons about this.”

Elizia, senior student, Warrimoo Public School

Winner, Resilient Australia National School Award, 2017

St Ives North Public School with the New South Wales Rural Fire Service

Sydney's St. Ives North Public School won the National School Award in 2017 for Project FireStorm, an integrated bushfire education program delivered in partnership with the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS). With support from the NSW RFS, students designed and presented innovative solutions to enhance preparedness and resilience to bushfire in their community.

The project addressed education outcomes of the K-6 New South Wales syllabus for the Australian Curriculum, with an emphasis on geography and science. The project supported an integrated approach to teaching and learning about bushfires, using problem-based learning strategies. Project FireStorm is now used as a case study to support teachers to deliver bushfire education across New South Wales.

Highly commended, Resilient Australia National School Award, 2017

Dunalley Primary School

In 2013 the town of Dunalley in Tasmania was devastated by bushfire that destroyed the local school, police station and bakery. The community rallied together to rebuilt a fully functioning temporary school in approximately 40 days, ready for occupancy by the 120 students and their teachers only two days after the scheduled start of the 2013 school year.