Bushfire Book

The tragedies of the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 and others throughout our history highlight the need for the community to keep themselves informed regarding the physical and emotional implications of bushfires and how to best deal with their impact.

Bushfire Information

It is important to prepare for the bushfire season and have access to valuable information during critical times. There are many useful web sites and contacts providing information in this area – some of these are listed below

Country Fire Authority Victoria www.cfa.vic.gov.au

GriefLine www.griefline.org.au

GriefLine’s principal aim is to provide an anonymous support service to members of the public who have encountered a significant loss due to:

• Death
• Relationships
• Domestic violence
• Depression
• Health concerns
• Lack of family/community support
• Unemployment
• Gambling and other addictions

Lifeline www.lifeline.org.au
Lifeline’s services operate from 60 locations nationally, with a presence in every State and Territory within Australia. Lifeline was founded in 1963 by the late Reverend Dr Sir Alan Walker, after he received a call by a distressed man, who three days later took his own life. Determined not to let loneliness, isolation or anxiety be the cause of other deaths, Sir Alan launched a crisis line, which operated out of the Methodist Central Mission in Sydney. Just a few days after it was first established, Lifeline received over one hundred calls for help.

Downloadable Resource Documents

One terrible result of bushfire is the emotional trauma suffered by those both directly and indirectly affected by the fires. Children and young people in particular may not have the capacity to understand or explain the emotions they are experiencing and it is advisable that help is sought for those who appear to be suffering emotional trauma of any kind.

Parent Guide

A Parent’s Resource Guide has been developed to accompany Bushfire. It is designed to help parents use the fictional story as a basis for working through issues with their children that are raised by the story. It also provides methods for dealing with impact of such issues, what to watch for in children and teenagers recovering from trauma, how to help them deal with it and advice for parents seeking additional help for children.

Click here to download a PDF of the Parent Resource Book.

Teacher Guide

A 50-page Teacher’s Resource Guide is also available that provides information and resources that teachers can use or amend for their particular classroom environments. When combined with the Parent Guide, it could also be used to help explore some of the feelings with which the students may be grappling It is a wonderful resource and is available for free download. This guide can be used in lesson preparation or directly in the classroom. It contains suggested conversation starters, activities and worksheets for each chapter. It is available in a Word document that teachers can download and amend as necessary.

Click here to download a Word document of the Teacher Resource Book.

The tragedies of the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009 and others throughout our history highlight the need for the community to keep themselves informed regarding the physical and emotional implications of bushfires and how to best deal with their impact.

Downloadable Resource Documents

One terrible result of bushfire is the emotional trauma suffered by those both directly and indirectly affected by the fires. Children and young people in particular may not have the capacity to understand or explain the emotions they are experiencing and it is advisable that help is sought for those who appear to be suffering emotional trauma of any kind.

A Parent’s Resource Guide has been developed to accompany Bushfire. It is designed to help parents use the fictional story as a basis for working through issues with their children that are raised by the story. It also provides methods for dealing with impact of such issues, what to watch for in children and teenagers recovering from trauma, how to help them deal with it and advice for parents seeking additional help for children.

A Teacher’s Resource Guide is also available. It is a wonderful resource for the classroom environment and is available for free download. This contains suggested conversation starters, activities and worksheets for each chapter. This guide is available in a Word document that teachers can download and amend as necessary.

Bushfire Information

It is important to prepare for the bushfire season and have access to valuable information during critical times. There are many useful web sites and contacts providing information in this area – some of these are listed below;

www.cfa.vic.gov.au (description of service/full name? e.g. The Country Fire Authority Victoria provides a complete list of current fire incidents and information regarding preparation for the bushfire season)

www.griefline.org.au GriefLine’s principal aim is to provide an anonymous support service to members of the public who have encountered a significant loss due to:

• Death

• Relationships

• Domestic violence

• Depression

• Health concerns

• Lack of family/community support

• Unemployment

• Gambling and other addictions

http://www.lifeline.org.au/ Lifeline’s services operate from 60 locations nationally, with a presence in every State and Territory within Australia.

Lifeline was founded in 1963 by the late Reverend Dr Sir Alan Walker, after he received a call by a distressed man, who three days later took his own life. Determined not to let loneliness, isolation or anxiety be the cause of other deaths, Sir Alan launched a crisis line, which operated out of the Methodist Central Mission in Sydney.

Just a few days after it was first established, Lifeline received over one hundred calls for help.