Supporting students in bushfire affected areas

VicHealth has partnered with Science Gallery Melbourne to support students in bushfire affected areas following the devasting bushfire season 2019/20. The health promotion organisation has contributed $40,000 towards Science Gallery Melbourne’s East Gippsland Schools Outreach Program. The funding will support up to 120 students take part in the bushfire response program. 

VicHealth is also a supporter of the broader Science Gallery Melbourne program, providing an additional $60,000 towards their MENTAL exhibition, which will explore mental wellbeing and societal bias and stigma surrounding the issue.  

The East Gippsland Schools Outreach Program, developed by the University’s Museums and Collections Department, provides a two day on-campus experience for high school students from remote, rural and regional communities affected by the 2019/2020 Victorian bushfire crisis. The program was curated with a key focus on design thinking for community resilience and mental wellbeing. 

During their stay, students and teachers will take part in hands-on educational design thinking workshops, micro- lectures with leading academics and engagement, as well as overnight stay at residential colleges. Part of Science Gallery Melbourne’s MENTAL exhibition – the gallery’s opening exhibition focusing on youth and mental wellbeing; the students will experience a personal tour of the show as well as access to the teaching and learning spaces within the gallery to complete tasks focused on mental wellbeing and resilience linking to the exhibition theme. 

The outcomes for this program include the following:

• Educational – with consultation with teachers, regional rural and remote students will supplement their in- school learning with specialist academic workshops, and museum and collection tours.

• Aspirational – students will experience university life and culture, helping to build aspiration for future studies and improving mental wellbeing by reducing feelings of isolation.

• Community development – investment in the East Gippsland communities provides hope and opportunities for connectedness. Also, wherever possible funds such as transport costs will be spent within local communities.

VicHealth CEO Dr Sandro Demaio says art is valuable in its ability to unite people from different backgrounds, ages and experiences, particularly in challenging times.

“We are proud to support Science Gallery Melbourne’s new MENTAL exhibition. This important project, much of which has been co-designed with young Victorians, will drive inclusivity and encourage meaningful conversations on important issues, such as mental health,” Dr Demaio said.

“VicHealth funding will also help provide opportunities for young people, including those from the bushfire affected East Gippsland region.”

VicHealth is a pioneer in health promotion – the process of enabling people to increase control over and improve their health. VicHealth firmly believe that participating in the arts has multiple benefits for health and wellbeing, including reducing feelings of social isolation, strengthening community connectedness and building self-esteem, as people pursue creative activity alone or in groups. 

The University’s Chancellery museums have been consolidated under a new department – Museums and Collections, as a vehicle to launch the University’s Cultural Commons vision and share its cultural assets with the community in a meaningful and impactful way. The Museums and Collections Department comprising of staff from five diverse museums and galleries – Science Gallery Melbourne, Old Quad, Buxton Contemporary, Grainger Museum and The Ian Potter Museum of Art.  

The University of Melbourne’s vast collections reflect some of the best Australian cultural practice. The collections have been created through generations of giving by people inspired by a thirst for knowledge across time and the disciplines of the University. As students, scholars and alumni have passed through the University, many have shared or bequeathed artefacts, artworks, manuscripts, libraries and indeed whole collections with the goal of making these accessible to more people and later generations. 

This notion of sharing, interrogating and challenging underlines the timeliness of today repositioning the University’s cultural collections as a Cultural Commons – an open and inviting experience of creative and cultural activity, that aims to enrich the contribution the collection can make to learning and research while supporting a sense of place and community and making a significant new difference in the world.