In this episode we cover everything from the big plans and ambitions of community groups, to how we think about the building blocks of what leadership is, and how we support and foster a strong community sector.

“Allowing the community to excel and thrive has been evident in this program, where we’ve worked with people that they felt heard and listened to, and then trusted to go and do what they considered was the right solution, or the solution for this place; and it is the people of a place that will make that place better or stronger or more engaging...” — Carolyn Ardler.

You’ll hear from Carolyn Ardler from the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, Nicole Weber from Quality Matters Consulting, Alex Boulgakov from Renewable Cobargo, and Vanessa Spinelli from Grow the Future. Each has been connected to the IRCF Program (Investing in Rural Community Futures Program). The IRCF’s aim is to support and strengthen the capacity of grassroots NfPs, enabling them to have a positive impact on overall community well-being. In less than two years, the program engaged about 150 organisations and trained 45 community leaders in the Bega Valley Shire.

We're excited that The Bega Valley Investing in Rural Community Futures Program was a finalist at the NSW Resilient Australia Awards (2024), and was “Highly Commended” in the Resilient Australia Local Government Award category.

A critical aspect of regeneration is the way in which it illuminates what a community needs.

The Bega Valley was hit hard by the Black Summer bushfires, so the idea of regeneration is both literal and figurative. A crisis is a turning point for any community — a time when local people face overwhelming challenges, placing community leaders at risk of burnout. In the wake of significant disaster, when day-to-day life has been so utterly disrupted, communities galvanise in unprecedented ways, and are often inspired to reimagine the future. This can result in the initiation of hugely ambitious projects, as people are reinvigorated by seeing the power community collaboration and connection have to ensure the sustainability of community groups and not-for-profits (NfPs), and the leaders who help drive them.

Series links:

Bega Valley Shire Council

Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal

Investing in Rural Community Futures Program

Australian Rural Leadership Foundation

 Interviewees:

Ep 1:

Eden Visitor Centre

Palliative Care Australia

Bega Valley Business Forum

Ep 2:

Eden Killer Whale Museum

Potoroo Palace

Police Citizens and Youth Club (Far South Coast)

Ep 3:

Eden Community Access Centre

Kate Liston-Mills (author and community advocate)

Cobargo Community Access Centre (closed), redirect to Cobargo Community Development Corporation Limited

Ep 4:

Cobargo & District Energy Transition (Renewable Cobargo)

Grow the Future (Bega)

IRCF Program South Coast (FRRR)

Quality Matters Consulting

Episode Image by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

In this episode we focus less on what not-for-profits and community organisations are doing in the Bega Valley, and more on how they’re doing it.

“It was very powerful and I think for myself, I can only speak for myself on this one, it helped my recovery because I was able to help others... As a community member I was seriously impacted as was everybody else, but I think because I was in the position of being able to help people, that really helped me.” — Chris Walters.

You’ll hear from three community leaders: Chris Walters from Cobargo Community Access Centre; Carina Severs from Eden Community Access Centre; and Kate Liston-Mills, author and local advocate.

Each of these women brings an approach to their work which is community led, pragmatic, and at heart driven by seeing a need and just getting stuck in and doing what’s necessary.

What’s also striking is the deeply holistic nature of their approaches. You’ll hear how they’re motivated by a sense of both mission and purpose, and why they maintain a focus on how to get things done, rather than on who gets the credit.

We explore how the day-to-day of community work is informed by deeper questions of “how”:

As the impacts of the Black Summer bushfires and COVID crises dissipate locally, Chris, Carina and Kate locate strategies to face and confront long-term challenges (such as intergenerational change, aging populations, or disenfranchised individuals), by building on a vision of an active and engaged community — where many people (and many hands) step up, collaborate, support, lead and work together.

Series links:

Bega Valley Shire Council

Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal

Investing in Rural Community Futures Program

Australian Rural Leadership Foundation

 Interviewees:

Ep 1:

Eden Visitor Centre

Palliative Care Australia

Bega Valley Business Forum

Ep 2:

Eden Killer Whale Museum

Potoroo Palace

Police Citizens and Youth Club (Far South Coast)

Ep 3:

Eden Community Access Centre

Kate Liston-Mills (author and community advocate)

Cobargo Community Access Centre (closed), redirect to Cobargo Community Development Corporation Limited

Ep 4:

Cobargo & District Energy Transition (Renewable Cobargo)

Grow the Future (Bega)

IRCF Program South Coast (FRRR)

Quality Matters Consulting

Episode Image by Felice Wölke on Unsplash

In this episode, we’re going to take stock of some of the key challenges all Community Leaders face, and some of the unique ways rural Community Leaders respond to them.

It’s about Filling the Gaps, and embracing the spirit of doing the best you can with what you have.

“One thing that the Council have done recently that is really good is sharing information and that has actually been amazing and also through different programs where organization gets to meet each other and network. Everyone's so busy, everyone works so hard, so it's hard to actually get together and organize things. But if there's an organization that organize stuff, it's amazing.” — Anna Lindstrand.

You’ll meet three local Community Leaders: Anna Lindstrand from Potoroo Palace, Jacqui Filby who works with Police citizens Youth Clubs NSW, and Angela George from the Eden Killer Whale Museum.

Anna, Jacqui and Angela outline short-term responses but also, at times, the need to look at the bigger picture. They detail the different types of organisational and community trouble-shooting they encounter, and how they grow, learn, harness the wisdom of others, and in the process build community and strengthen people's individual skills.

Anna, Jacqui and Angela reflect on Leadership, what that word means to them; what leadership means to people in rural and regional areas; and of what community leadership in regional places like the Bega Valley can teach us all, no matter where we live, about community leadership as a whole.

Series links:

Bega Valley Shire Council

Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal

Investing in Rural Community Futures Program

Australian Rural Leadership Foundation

 Interviewees:

Ep 1:

Eden Visitor Centre

Palliative Care Australia

Bega Valley Business Forum

Ep 2:

Eden Killer Whale Museum

Potoroo Palace

Police Citizens and Youth Club (Far South Coast)

Ep 3:

Eden Community Access Centre

Kate Liston-Mills (author and community advocate)

Cobargo Community Access Centre (closed), redirect to Cobargo Community Development Corporation Limited

Ep 4:

Cobargo & District Energy Transition (Renewable Cobargo)

Grow the Future (Bega)

IRCF Program South Coast (FRRR)

Quality Matters Consulting

 Episode Image by Hans-Peter Gauster on Unsplash

In this episode, you’ll hear three local Community Leaders reflect on Leadership, what that word means to them; what leadership means to people in rural and regional areas; and of what community leadership in regional places like the Bega Valley can teach us all, no matter where we live, about community leadership as a whole.

“It was a life changing experience for me. It really was. It changed my views on leadership. It changed my views on what I could contribute to my community.” — Clair Mudaliar.

You’ll meet Clair Mudaliar from the Eden Visitor Information Centre, Ian Campbell who works with Palliative Care Australia, and Nigel Ayling from the Bega Valley Business Forum.

Clair and Ian set the scene about the specific nature of what community leaders face in the Bega Valley (this gives a taste of what we’ll explore throughout this podcast), and for context Nigel outlines the textured and layered economic and business environments of the Bega Valley.

Series links:

Bega Valley Shire Council

Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal

Investing in Rural Community Futures Program

Australian Rural Leadership Foundation

 Interviewees:

Ep 1:

Eden Visitor Centre

Palliative Care Australia

Bega Valley Business Forum

Ep 2:

Eden Killer Whale Museum

Potoroo Palace

Police Citizens and Youth Club (Far South Coast)

Ep 3:

Eden Community Access Centre

Kate Liston-Mills (author and community advocate)

Cobargo Community Access Centre (closed), redirect to Cobargo Community Development Corporation Limited

Ep 4:

Cobargo & District Energy Transition (Renewable Cobargo)

Grow the Future (Bega)

IRCF Program South Coast (FRRR)

Quality Matters Consulting

 Episode Image by Hannah Busing on Unsplash