our story
How the Upper Murray Youth Working Group began
As part of the Upper Murray Bushfire Recovery process, the CNC created a Youth Working Group to give young people aged 12-25 a voice, influence and control over how the recovery process impacts young people and what they would like to see for their future in the Upper Murray.
The group is driven by young people with the support of the UM CRC and Towong Shire. Originally facilitated by CNC youth worker, Errol Obran and continued with Adele miles as the Youth worker & Cherrie Byrne as the peer worker, who are constantly striving for constant imporvement
Young people in the group will be initially focusing on:
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Reviewing and discussing current community programs
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Learning & building on skills on how to be an effective community group and influence community outcomes
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Working with recovery officers and youth workers to access funding and grants and implement their own programs
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Influencing how youth support services are delivered in the future
Please encourage all the young people in your life to become part of this group. It is, after all, their future and we want them to play an active part in determining the future of the Upper Murray.
There are no requirements for long term commitments, complicated governance or any significant workload. They just need to come along and have a voice.
The story of our logo
High Def Chicken
Have you ever wondered why the UMYWG logo is a chicken head?
Well here's the tale that crept its way into all our hearts.
As the red glow in the sky got brighter, and the hot flames started creeping over Mt Mittamatite, it soon became clear that the bushfires weren't going away. Local residents were forced to decide whether to stay or go; to help protect their community, or get themselves to safety while there was still the opportunity to do so.
People with animals were faced with the impossible decision to either bring them along and hope to still find a place that will take them all in or leave them behind with the flame to fend for themselves. In most cases people managed to bring their cats or dogs with them, however in a rural town there's always more animals than this, and it was people's backyard chooks who pulled the short straw in the end.
Our tale in particular focusses on a small chook shed on the outskirts of town, home to about 5 hens.
There were no true witnesses to this next part of the story, yet the remarkable story has no other explanation. By this time the fire had blazed through the paddocks that separate Corryong and the mountain, and soon was licking the sides of the chicken house. It would seem that all was surely lost for the poor girls who were currently trapped inside, yet as the flames raged from every angle, their plastic water barrel suddenly gave way - flooding the pen and extinguishing the blaze! The chickens were discovered shortly after covered in ash, charcoal and smoke, but alive.
Chickens aren't often used as a symbol of resilience or survival, generally because the term has become associated with being scared or unwilling to try things. But after hearing this story at one of the first UMYWG meetings, the group decided to embrace the chicken head logo with full force, as it seemed to represent us more than any traditional symbol of survival ever could.
As for 'high def', well that's another story... (Hint; it's better than 'low res/resolution')
A massive thank you to Hannigan our local artist for designing and refining our logo, we will be sure to use it for many more years to come!