By Dongyun Kwon
Badger Creek Community Group (BCCG) presented their new community plan to the Yarra Ranges Council (YRC) to inform the projects the community will be undertaking over the next four years.
BCCG member Rachael Davidson attended the latest council meeting on Tuesday 23 July to represent the group.
Ms Davidson said BCCG started with a passionate group of badgers in 2016.
“The group led the process of understanding what the Badger Creek community valued about living in our town and what they thought would make Badger Creek better, and the feedback was detailed in the last community plan that we developed,” she said.
“Building on the feedback, a great number of initiatives were undertaken by the group, and they included things like community gatherings, some skill-building workshops, a social media presence and a spring festival.
“We then were impacted by Covid, it put a dampener on our activities.”
After Covid-19, the group undertook to revitalise and reconnect with the community.
Ms Davidson said BCCG applied for a grant and ran Have Your Say Day to collate ideas about what the community members wanted to see for the future of Badger Creek.
“Have Your Say Day highlighted the importance of open space, environment, infrastructure to access that environment, and connection to our past and to each other,” she said.
“As part of that day, we contributed to writing a community poem.
“We then had a Community Picnic in April to launch our plans and celebrated it with the various community groups that could call Badger Creek home, and as part of the preparations for the picnic, we asked the primary school to illustrate the community poem for us.”
The group is now working on a number of projects based on the ideas which were collated through the Have Your Say Day.
Ms Davidson said the group is trying to improve access to the natural assets by creating accessible paths and tracks as well as to improve the Badger Creek Hall to celebrate its 100th birthday next year.
“We’re also working with Healesville Sanctuary and the State Government to revitalise the roundabout at the entrance to the sanctuary,” she said.
“We are looking at ways to tell the stories of our Indigenous and settler ancestors, and we’re exploring a range of options to make our history more accessible to locals and tourists.
“We’re building our resilience by creating stronger connections with each other, and we’re also looking at building a community emergency hub facility in Badger Creek.”
Ryrie Ward councillor Fiona McAllister has shown great support for this group as she attended some of the events the group organised.
Cr McAllister said the group has been the community connection in fun and creative ways.
“I love everything that the group has done over the years,” she said.
“I think all of us around this table understand the amount of energy and effort that goes into it,”
Cr McAllister asked a question to Ms Davidson.
“It’s hard for community groups, like CFA or any group with a clear purpose, to keep energy and focus,” she said.
“What advice or insights do you have that have kept that energy and reinvigoration possible?”
In response, Ms Davidson said it’s changed with the different members of the group.
“In the pre-Covid, there was a real energy around lots of social events. The group has reformed and we’re a little bit more focused around how we can make our environment great,” she said.
“Our key members are really keen to make people know that they’ve arrived somewhere when they come into Badger Creek rather than just be somewhere that they pass through on the way to Healesville Sanctuary.
“It’s a really important place, particularly with our history around Coranderrk, we’re keen to tell that story, and that’s what keeps us motivated.”
