Two Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC researchers were acknowledged for their leadership and research in community resilience and disaster recovery recently.
Dr Blythe McLennan and Dr Briony Towers (RMIT University) were recognised in November for their contributions to research involving emergency volunteering and child-centred disaster risk reduction.
Commissioner Andrew Crisp from Emergency Management Victoria presented 2018 Quiet Achiever Awards, which were hosted by the Mooroolbark Umbrella Group.
The evening focused on the community insights and the work of emergency management agencies since the 2009 Victorian Black Saturday bushfires. Commissioner Crisp acknowledged the work of many people across the sector towards achieving far greater cohesion and cooperation between emergency management agencies since the fires.
Dr McLennan, who leads the Enabling sustainable volunteering project, says there is a greater willingness to learn and adapt to change since Black Saturday, while through her leadership of the Child-centred disaster risk reduction project, Dr Towers is passionate about the active and supportive role that children can increasingly have in their families and communities. Dr Towers recognises that children have an important role in not only understanding bushfire risks and safety, but also in becoming stakeholders, and even educators within their schools, homes and communities.
CRC Research Director Dr John BatescongratulatedDr McLennan and Dr Towers for being outstanding representatives of emerging researchers who are passionately committed to their research.
“They both inspire and encourage those around them and openly share their research.
“BothBlythe and Briony are passionate about the relevant fields of research and are driven by the opportunity to use their research to improve community safety, rather than seeking public recognition amongst their peers,” Dr Bates said.