Free Disaster Education Training

Tablelands Regional Council is running free disaster education training for educators and professionals working with children and families.

‘We’ve teamed up with the Queensland Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health and nearby councils to offer this free training aimed at primary school teachers, early childhood educators, librarians, mental health clinicians, community workers, first responders and other professionals,’ said Local Disaster Management Group Chair Mayor Rod Marti.

‘We’re offering two programs — Birdie’s Tree Universal Resources Training and Birdie’s Tree Early Learning Program.

‘Birdie’s Tree is a world-leading suite of resources supporting the mental health and social-emotional wellbeing of babies, young children, families and communities through natural disasters and disruptive events.

‘It includes award-winning storybooks, videos and interactive tools to help children prepare for, cope with and recover from challenging experiences.

‘The Birdie’s Tree Universal Resources Training is a 60–90min face-to-face workshop introducing Birdie’s Tree resources and practical strategies for young children, and each participant will receive a free resources pack including storybooks, hand puppets and educator manuals.

‘The Birdie’s Tree Early Learning Program is for early childhood educators and starts with a 2hr introductory workshop.

‘Educators will then continue with five free online modules (30–40min each) exploring how to support children’s resilience and wellbeing in the context of disasters.

‘The programs will be run between Monday 31 March and Thursday 3 April in Atherton, Mareeba and Cairns — find out where and when, and register at https://forms.office.com/r/13nqq8mCRq,’ Mayor Marti said.