Home | Better Prepared - Aireys to Eastern View

New in 2026

We are not just waiting for help.

We are getting ready to help each other.

#communitypreparedness #emergencyready

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ABOUT US

Who are we?

We’re a small group of local community members, and we’re working to help the Aireys Inlet to Eastern View Community be better prepared for emergencies like bushfires, floods, heatwaves, and power outages.

We are a mixed bunch of locals, fairly representative of our slice of paradise, all with something to offer this project and our community. A few of us have gone through formal training with the Resilience Canopy (thanks to support from Geelong Sustainability) and are a part of an Australian-wide network of community resilience practitioners - the Canopy Collective.

What are we doing?

We’re starting a community-led process to build our community response plan that will be shaped by local knowledge, key agency input and industry best practice.

We are doing all this with a growing network of locals who are keen to help others in our community when the next heatwave, flood, or fire hits.

What's happening now?

Right now we are building community awareness about his project and working behind the scenes to set up this group/project.

We are reaching out to our local community and key agencies - letting them know what we are up to and how they can be involved and stay informed.

Our volunteer group meets on the first Monday of the month - all welcome!

> 6pm Monday 1st June @ Aireys Pub

> 6pm Monday 6th July via Online (link soon)

Notes from our: Feb Meeting HERE

March Meeting HERE

April Meeting HERE

SAVE THE DATE - we will be holding a community workshop at the Aireys Pub on Saturday 2nd May from 11:30 - 3pm. More info and registration link below.

After this workshop we aim to have community resilience plan that will outline how will we move forward with community-led actions in the second half of 2026 and in to 2027.

Do we really need this?

We know that in a major bushfire or emergency, we might be on our own for a while - especially if the Great Ocean Road is closed as we saw in places like Lorne and Wye River during the flash flooding event in January 2026.

We need to be prepared as a community for those first critical hours or days - neighbours helping neighbours may matter more than ever.

We also need to consider how best to prepare for and support any tourists or holiday makers who are here when the emergency happens.

Community Workshop

Click on the image below to view our Community Workshop poster.

On Saturday 2nd of May we invited the Aireys to Eastern View Community to come together at the Aireys Pub from 11:30am - 3:30pm (pizza lunch included) to identify, discuss and prioritise the opportunities that exist for us, as a community, to be better prepared for our next bushfire, flood or heatwave etc.

Workshop Agenda

11:30am - Welcome & Setting the Scene

Midday - Facilitated Q & A Panel - hear from community leaders with lived experience of recent emergencies:

Christine Shaw - Wye River
Carly Stafford - Lorne
Kyla Beale - Gellibrand

1pm - Pizza Lunch

1:30pm - Exploring Ideas for Community Action

2:30pm - Determining Priority Actions & Resourcing

3:30pm - Workshop Close

Thank you to everyone who attended.

More frequently asked questions

General

We know that the community will come up with some great ideas for how we can be better prepared but here a few we have been kicking around:

- Having a satellite phone/internet and UHF/VHF radio at multiple places around town so we have some communication around the township when there is no phone coverage or internet connection

- Creating a stockpile of masks, water, blankets, first aid kits at various locations

- Developing a list of what people might need (eg. assistance in relocating to a relief centre) and what they could offer (eg. chainsaw to help remove fallen trees) in a

- Making a map of key locations and resources around town (eg. defibrillators, battery banks, place of last resort).

- Designing and distributing fridge magnets for holiday homes to educate holidaymakers on where they can access information in an emergency.

The Surf Coast Shire Council do great things and we all know the CFA are simply amazing... but in a massive fire or large scale emergency, they might be stretched thin or unable to reach us or support us straight away.

While we aim to work closely with the CFA and the Surf Coast Shire, the plan is being written by locals for locals to fill an identified need from those within our own community.

Plus we believe the people who live on these streets know what we need better than someone in an office in Torquay or Melbourne.