Australia is facing a new era of climate-driven disaster risk. Bushfires, floods, heatwaves, and storms are becoming more frequent and more severe with the continued burning of coal, oil and gas. For families, especially for children, these events can be traumatic, dangerous, and deeply disorienting.
We can reduce the impact of emergencies, both big and small on our families, by being prepared. The price tag reduces too: for every dollar invested in community resilience, Australia saves ten in disaster response and recovery.
That's why we're proudly launching Parents Prepare, a month of action in October to connect parents, locally and nationally, with trusted information and support so families can build an emergency plan together, before they need one.
Meet Charlie's Birthday Adventure
At the heart of the project is a new children's picture book, Charlie's Birthday Adventure — the story of a family preparing to evacuate during a bushfire threat. It comes with lots of helpful information and a workbook for kids. It's a gentle, family friendly way to start the preparedness conversation with your kids. We invite you to join us to experience Charlie's Birthday Adventure here and reflect on the ways you could share this resource with other parents in your community.
Parents Prepare - join us for a month of action
Parents trust other parents. That's why we need parents like you who can bring these conversations and resources like Charlie's Birthday Adventure into your own networks and communities, during our Parents Prepare month of action this October.
Bringing Parents Prepare to your community could look like:
- Talking to friends and family about why preparedness matters
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Hosting a family event in your community, and distributing family-friendly resources like Charlie's Birthday Adventure
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Co-hosting a preparedness session in collaboration with a trusted community partner like the Australian Red Cross or the Rural Fire Service
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Sharing preparedness messages in your local parent chats and groups
You'll be supported by the Parents for Climate team with key resources and be connected to an inspiring network of leaders across the continent.
Register your interest for Parents Prepare
Parents for Climate continues to campaign for long-term solutions. But with summer approaching and extreme heat and bushfire conditions already here, we also need to look out for each other right now. Let's prepare together and build the family and community resilience that we need for these times.