Fire to Flourish
Fisher J, Nuggehalli Krishna R, Willems J, Varshney K.
Fire to Flourish is a strategic program led by a transdisciplinary team from Monash University in partnership with four regional communities (East Gippsland in VIC, and Eurobodalla, Tenterfield and Clarence Valley in NSW) which were severely impacted by the 2019-2020 bushfire season and overlapping disasters.
Over the last twenty years there have been community surveys following fires in Australia, but there are significant gaps in what they asked about and how the findings were made available. None were created with community consultation, none considered First Nations peoples’ perspectives, or analysed the data to distinguish their needs and experiences from those of others. The results were not returned to the communities who contributed to them or to the wider public.
Communities benefit from having up-to-date and specific data about the health and wellbeing of the local population to inform policies, service provision and advocacy efforts. It is valuable to these efforts to understand locally specific experiences and how strengths and vulnerabilities are distributed. The Health and Wellbeing Survey co-designed by Prof. Jane Fisher and her team with bushfire-affected community stakeholders seeks to address these gaps and provide communities with up-to-date data.
Find out more on the Fire to Flourish website:
Publications
Varshney K, Krishna RN, Willems J, Romero L, Kavenagh M, Fisher J. Health and social care providers’ mental health after natural hazard events in rural settings: A systematic review. Mental Health & Prevention. 2026 May 7:200516. doi: 10.1016/j.mhp.2026.200516.
Varshney K, Makleff S, Krishna RN, Romero L, Willems J, Wickes R, Fisher J. Mental health of vulnerable groups experiencing a drought or bushfire: A systematic review. Global Mental Health (Cambridge, England). 2023 Apr 13;10:e24. doi: 10.1017/gmh.2023.13.
Research article
Disaster survivors feel more prepared for the next one but are often left out of planning.
Werbeloff L, Johnston D, Fisher J and Wickes R.
The Conversation, 14 February 2022.