Naturally Brave Wins 2024 Resilient Australia National Mental Health & Wellbeing Award - Sign Up for 2025!

We’re delighted and grateful to announce that the Naturally Brave project by Makers Empire, Bushfire Kids Connect, and Growing with Gratitude has won the 2024 Resilient Australia National Mental Health and Wellbeing Award! Thank you very much to all involved for this wonderful recognition of our natural disasters resilience and changemakers program.

The Naturally Brave project started with a pilot of 10 schools in SA’s Riverland. Thanks to the Australian Government National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Disaster Ready Funding (DRF) 2023/2024, in 2024 it expanded across South Australia (photos from the recent SA Showcase below), and into New South Wales.

The goals of Naturally Brave are to:

Help students understanding their highest potential disaster risk in their local community context and creating a ‘disaster reduction risk action plan’ responsive to their location.
Help students to be well-informed and understand why natural disasters happen, how they are controlled, their impact on the environment, and approaches to disaster management that promote sustainability. Indigenous land management is at the forefront of this project as we understand the importance of the WHY, WHERE, HOW of natural disasters in South Australia.
Support students’ emotional wellbeing by teaching skills; including: ownership and a focus on service to others (volunteering in their community), self-awareness, gratitude, empathy and kindness, as well as coping strategies in an evacuation.
Empower students as problem solvers and creative designers who can make a difference in their families’ lives. Students will use the design thinking problem-solving methodology and 3D design to create solutions to help during an evacuation such as packing a bag, helping mum and dad, protecting animals etc

Check out this Channel 9 news story from the recent Naturally Brave showcase in November in South Australia:

Sign Up for Naturally Brave 2025 in NSW, QLD & SA

Makers Empire is running Naturally Brave in three Australian states in 2025 thanks to the Australian Government National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Disaster Ready Funding (DRF) 2023/2024. Schools selected for these programs are awarded a package valued at $8,500 including professional development for teachers, Makers Empire’s STEM tools and resources and a student showcase event.

Primary schools in the Port Macquarie, Griffith and Leeton regions of NSW are invited to submit an expression of interest. This program will be delivered to 20 schools in Port Macquarie, Griffith and Leeton, NSW, in terms 3-4, 2025. Expressions of interest close November 25th, 2024. Learn more.

Primary schools in the Townsville and Cairns regions of Queensland are invited to submit an expression of interest. This program will be delivered to 40 schools in Townsville and Cairns, in terms 3-4, 2025. Expressions of interest close December 2nd, 2024. Learn more .

Primary schools in the Eyre Peninsula and Adelaide regions of South Australia are invited to submit an expression of interest. This program will be delivered to 20 schools in the Eyre Peninsula region and Adelaide, SA, in terms 3-4, 2025. Early bird expressions of interest close November 25th, 2024.