CFA’s Arthur’s Creek Strathewen fire brigade have worked with 10 Strathewen Primary School students to create a ‘Claymation’ film about bushfire awareness, which has been well received by local people.
Community members were impressed when watching the finished product, titled “If you care, stay aware, be prepared” - A message from Gem Gem, during a premier screening at the Strathewen Community Hall on Thursday, 24 November.
The initiative is part of CFA’s Survive and Thrive pilot program, which aims to educate young people about bushfires and encourage them to build awareness across their communities.
As part of this program, members of the local fire brigade were eager to work with their neighbouring primary school on a fire-themed project. This project was made possible with the support of the program and a grant from the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR).
The Strathewen Bushfire Relief Company also provided a grant to fund excursions including to the Yan Yean Reservoir, a camp, community presentations and a ‘Behind the Scenes’ short film, which provided education and research opportunities for the children to incorporate in the Claymation film.
Gozer Productions was brought on board to guide the students through all aspects of producing a Claymation, from making armatures (clay figures) through to the camera work required to create the film.
Watch the video below:
Survive and Thrive program Coordinator Emma Taunt said the excursions and activities students took part in were particularly valuable in both enhancing their bushfire knowledge and sharing that knowledge in a film for the whole community.
“At the Reservoir, the students learned about topography and measuring weather conditions from CFA Senior Leadership Instructor Jamie McKenzie, whose teaching style made learning fun and very entertaining. An excursion to Healesville Sanctuary showed the students how our native animals coped in hot weather,” Emma said.
“They incorporated what they learned into the storyline of their animation, which highlighted important fire safety and preparation messages like cleaning up around your property and keeping informed about Fire Danger Ratings.”
Arthurs Creek Fire Brigade member Lisal O’Brien came away from working on the project in awe of the knowledge these 10 young people acquired.
“When a family is discussing important issues regarding fire plans and whether to stay or go on bad fire days, these kids now have the knowledge to contribute valuable information to these decisions,” Lisal said.
“The Claymation project provided a fantastic opportunity for many members of our community, members of our local fire bridge and our local primary school to come together and produce an incredible result of which we are all very proud.”
Strathewen Primary School principal Jane Hayward was proud of her Grade 5 and 6 students who attended weekly sessions throughout Term 2 and 3 to learn about bushfires and to create their film.
“Our Grade 5 and 6 students worked wonderfully with all sorts of people including firefighters, zoo keepers, Claymation experts and our community volunteers who gave up many hours to build clay characters and props,” Jane said.
Author: CFA Media