Here is the Act on Climate crew's update on what we're up to, what's coming up, and ways you can get involved!
Thank you to everyone who submitted to the Resilience Inquiry and helped push our recommendation for a Victorian Community Climate Adaptation Fund (VCCAF) to ensure adequate and just climate adaptation that is community led! A short roundup of the incredible effort and outcomes of this below.
With the submissions stage of the Resilience Inquiry process closed, what's next? Join us in visioning and strategising the next stage of our advocacy for climate prepared Victorian communities at our upcoming in-person strategy sessions.
Or if you want us to come to you and help your community start the conversation around climate adaptation, reach out to us and we will come facilitate a community resilience mapping event.
Join the Frontline Climate Alliance Vic (FCAV) calls to work together towards community-led climate adaptation and more resilient Victorian communities that keep people safe. Last month, the FCAV was presented the thought-provoking findings and practical recommendations for creating more climate resilient communities in the Care Through Disaster report. Link to the recording below if you missed it.
This month, we'll be hearing from Moonee Valley Sustainability about about its Cool Safe Space project. More below!
RSVP for an upcoming collective meeting if you're keen to be a part of our campaign or learn some organising skills - no experience required, just passion for climate justice.
Our Impact on the Resilience Inquiry Submissions
Together with many others, our fingerprints are all over the submissions into the Vic Government's Inquiry into Climate Resilience.
Not only were 135 quick submissions sent in to the Inquiry, longer submissions were facilitated through outreach at events and online, and numerous submission making parties held and hosted by us, Darebin Neighbourhood House Network, Collingwood Neighbourhood House and Yarra City Council, Baw Baw Sustainability Network, Collingwood Neighbourhood Learning Centre, and Cairnlea Community House.
Our Resource Pack was sent around to other environmental organisations, all of Vic's unions, and 58 neighbourhood houses. And, our template was used by many as an easy way to structure their submissions.
Us and others organising around the inquiry, such as Environment Victoria and Victorian Trades Hall Council Just Transition, helped ensure that community members' voices were heard. They shared the climate impacts that concern them most and the risks their community is facing, as well as the solutions they want to see enacted.
We also submitted our own mammoth submission, which you can read in full here.
We are currently trawling through submissions to summarise the concerns and solutions mentioned, and to see how many times our ask for a Victorian Community Climate Adaptation Fund was passed on. Let us know if this is something you might be able to help with!
While we wait to hear when the hearings will begin (we will be taking more action at the hearings to keep up the pressure for the fund and communities' demands!), we're strategising our next steps.
Read our Resilience Inquiry submission
Visioning & Strategising What's Next
With the submissions stage of the Resilience Inquiry process closed, what's next? Join us in visioning and strategising the next stage of our advocacy for climate prepared Victorian communities at our upcoming in-person strategy sessions.
The first of three sessions will be on July 16, 2024 at 6:00pm - 8pm. At this session, we'll begin brainstorming what's next for the collective.
We're keen to hear from anyone interested in climate adaptation campaigning. We want your thoughts on what our shared vision of the future is, what we are for, not just one we are against. As well as on how we can be most effective at ensuring climate-prepared Victorian communities.
As activists we get used to resisting the things we don't want: a coal mine, deterioration of rights, or subsidies for the wealthy. For this campaign, we're not resisting, but are building a vision of a better way, of somewhere where everyone is cared for.
If you're interested in diving deep into some excellent resources on climate resilience/adaptation before we begin, let us know and we'll send them your way.
Join us in crafting the communities we cannot live without while dismantling the systems we cannot live within, shifting from fighting against to fighting for.
RSVP to share your vision and co-create AoC's
One of our ideas to start conversations around climate adaptation and building communities of care is facilitating community resilience mapping events around Victoria or training others to do this themselves. If you want us to come to you and help your community start the conversation around climate adaptation through this activity, let us know!
New FCAV YouTube & Call #6 Coming Up
The Frontline Climate Alliance Vic (FCAV) continues to work towards community-led climate adaptation and more resilient Victorian communities that keep people safe. Join the alliance to learn about, amplify, and action community-led climate adaptation.
How can we better set ourselves up to care and be cared for, especially in response to compounding climate impacts and disasters? The Care through Disaster report from Women’s Health Goulburn North East and Australia ReMade answers this question. It has clear recommendations for citizens, and local, state and federal government on how we can make this happen.
At AoC's fifth FCAV call, Amanda Kelly of WH Goulburn North East shared these with attendees. We then discussed their application to ensure climate impact prepared communities. Full report here and sign up for updates on this project here.
A recording of Amanda sharing the thought-provoking findings and practical recommendations for creating more climate resilient communities is up on our YouTube.
Watch the recording of our Care Through Disaster call
On our sixth FCAV call, Logan Shield from Moonee Valley Sustainability will be coming along to tell us about about its Cool Safe Space project. The project is a way of keeping people safe and healthy as the temperature rises. Using a staged approach, a community space is being turned into a cool safe space run on renewables.
Come along to hear how this inspiring initiative is being implemented and any learnings MVS has to share for others wanting to do the same in their community.
RSVP for the next Frontline Climate Alliance Vic call
Together we can help prepare communities for now unavoidable climate impacts!
Get in touch if you'd like to get involved or hear more about what we're doing:
- Alee Hanczakowski: [email protected], or
- Vicky Ellmore: [email protected]
Remember, you're always welcome to join Act on Climate's weekly meetings. Our organising and action meetings will take place on the alternative fortnight to the Organising Training Workshops.
All weeks include dinner. Register here for an upcoming Tuesday.