Our annual projects have direct
benefit to the Great South Coast region

Community Projects

Participants in the Community Leadership Program form project teams to complete community projects as a program deliverable.
Our annual projects have direct benefit to the Great South Coast region and align to Great South Coast Strategic Plans.

Our diverse project teams engage in action learning allowing them to engage with the community in ways that are not possible in their professional life. In many cases we are adding capacity to projects in partnership with NFP’s who require additional support and profiling.

Our project teams complete Project Management (PM) training and are provided with PM coaching. In addition, projects engage local leaders as mentors who generously provide connections, support and advice. Our projects are generally completed by December annually and may be extended in consultation with the Executive Officer. Projects may also be converted to Alumni projects post the program year to facilitate larger community projects that have increased economic, environmental and/or social impact for community.

Projects can be put forward by participants, Alumni, LGSC Board, LGSC staff, LGSC Partners and community representatives.

2024

Six Seasons Indigenous Art Project

Team Members: Rebecca Faris, Jarrod Woolley, Sarah Bubb-Dempster, Ryan Delony

Project Description

Fostering storytelling through a public artwork created by local Indigenous Youth, showcasing their culture and ongoing connection to country, with the wider community. 

A permanent installation replicating the ‘Six Seasons’ artwork, created by Indigenous students at Warrnambool College, in a prominent public space in Warrnambool City.

Project Status: Complete.

CFA/VFBV State Firefighter Championships Great South Coast Masterplan

Team Members: Will Kerr, Brit Watts, Aylish Tobin-Salzman, Rebecca Campbell

Project Description

CFA volunteer numbers are declining, the average age of volunteers is increasing, and regional towns are more at risk to extreme climatic events. Assisting local CFA brigades to attract volunteers is vital to keep communities safe now and into the future.

The development of the CFA/VFBV State Firefighter Championships Masterplan (the masterplan) will support local brigades to lobby for the event to be hosted in the region. The masterplan will assess existing facilities, supporting infrastructure, and required economic input, providing recommendations for improvements, current and potential capacity of the region and economic benefit of the championships. This will provide local volunteers with the background and regional focus information to lobby to both local government and the CFA.

Project Status: Complete.

Warrnambool Men’s Shed Strategic Plan

Team Members: Rhianna Burns, Mark Robson, Barbara Moll, Ashleigh Pruys

Project Description

A Legacy of Achievement, A Future of Connection:  Crafting a strategy for tomorrow’s Men’s Shed. 

Strengthen and support the sustainability of the Men’s Shed in Warrnambool by partnering with members of the Men’s Shed and the community in co-design of a strategic plan including plans for future growth, leadership, communication and engagement.

Project Status: Complete.

Thrive Youth Hub Scoping Project

Team Members: Janine Marra, Kim Ayling, Damien Mason, Tonia Wilcox

Project Description

To explore the need for a youth space in Portland where young people are supported and celebrated. 

Engage with community to assess the need for a youth hub in Portland and deliver a scoping report that includes a recommended governance structure for a Steering Committee.

Project Status: Complete.

2023

Farmers’ Night Out

Team Members: Jane Hinds, Mitchell Spencer and Michaela Meade

Project Description
The Farmers’ Night Out dinner, held on 22 September at Noorat Recreational Reserve, focused on fostering connections and raising awareness of mental health and support networks for local farmers and those in the agricultural industry.

The evening included:

  • A panel sharing lived experience of suicide and local support networks

  • A comedian

  • Live music

  • Three course meal

  • A vast range of local mental health and wellbeing service information and resources

  • A call to action for another organisation/ community group to take up this initiative to ensure it continues.
    Of those who provided formal feedback, 100% said this event encouraged them to have a mental health/wellbeing conversation with a friend or neighbour, or they will in the future.

Community Outcomes

  • 102 community members attended

  • Increased understanding of mental health and local support available

  • The Farmers’ Night Out Framework was published as a guide for other organisations to replicate a like event in the future

Project Status: Complete.

Fruit Rescue

Team Members: Alex Stoupas, Courtney Mathew, Mark Barling, Claudia Klunker and Jo-Anne O’Brien

Project Description
The project aimed to:

  • Utilise a waste stream of local unpicked fresh fruit varieties

  • Provide a health benefit to our region

  • Support food security

  • Boost health by increasing fresh fruit access and consumption

  • Build stronger community connections and more resilient communities across our region.

Volunteer pickers rescue unused fruit from people’s gardens and public spaces. The produce is shared between the owner, the volunteers and organisations that provide food to those with
limited access.

Community Outcomes

  • Branding and communications plan finalised

  • Website and social platforms live

  • Volunteer pickers registered

  • Trees registered for picking

  • Newsletter distribution list established

  • Promotional materials produced

  • Tools and equipment purchased to assist with picking and distributing the fruit

  • Fruit Rescue Handbook, covering all processes and procedures produced

  • A management committee established to take the project to phase 2

Project Status: Complete.

Community Climate Network Scoping

Team Members: Emma Shortis, Nicole Wood, Rachel Cameron, Cate Corbet, Cathryn Walder

Project Description
The Community Climate Network Scoping project assessed the need for a community-led climate network in the region and researched possible governance structures for such a body.
The project focused on phase 1, working with individuals and groups focused on climate action to map and document existing activity and collaborations across the Great South Coast. The project sought the opinions from key stakeholders about the challenges and opportunities in the region, as well as those with extensive governance experience, with a view to establishing the need for a dedicated community climate network.

Community Outcomes
• Wide-ranging engagement with community members across the region
• Stakeholder map identifying organisations and champions working in the climate space across the five LGAs of the Great South Coast region
• Need and appetite for a community led climate network identified
• Two reports produced: A report that determines the need for a Community Climate Network in the region, detailing the consultation process, evidence and recommendations for a Community Climate Network; and a report that advises on governance structures that may be used in phase 2

Project Status: Complete.

 

For details on our previous projects please email us at info@lgsc.org.au

Projects can be put forward by participants, Alumni, LGSC Board, LGSC staff, LGSC Partners and community representatives.