Vital Signs
Mirboo North & Districts Vital Signs Taking the pulse of Our Community
Why we created the Report
The Mirboo North & District Community Foundation was very pleased to collaborate with the Mirboo North & District Community Bank to produce the first Mirboo North & District’s Vital Signs Report in early 2020.
The Vital Signs Report provides a snapshot of how our community is faring in key quality of life areas: Health & Wellbeing, Education & Learning, Economy, Environment and Belonging. This report reflects some of the changes brought about by the Covid pandemic and the Storm event of February 2024.
Why this Report matters
A copy of the relevant report has been sent to every household in our district as we hope that it will not only make the community aware of how we are faring, but also be a conversation starter that will ultimately lead to action within the community to tackle challenges or seize opportunities.
We are, however, facing an unprecedented period in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which conversations will be generally limited to the on-line environment and where much of our attention will be taken up, as it should be, with keeping ourselves and our community safe and well.
For this reason, we will spend more time allowing for the report to be digested, before reassessing and kicking off the ‘conversation’ phase.
Why did we produce this report?
Understanding community needs in areas like Health & Wellbeing, Education & Learning, Economy, Environment, and Belonging is a vitally important step in creating local solutions that we can all contribute to, ensuring our community is a great place to live, now and in the future.
Our Vital Signs project was championed by the Mirboo North & District Community Foundation and the Mirboo North & District Community Bank, supported by a steering group of community representatives. Vital Signs will also give an evidence base to help the Community Foundation and the Community Bank decide where to target their resources for the greatest impact
How to use this report
We want you to use this report to start a conversation with your friends, family and work colleagues, so you can:
- Discuss issues you all care about.
- Highlight data that surprises you.
- Think about what you would do to make a difference, and
- Consider whether this data would change the focus of your community organisation.
What is Next?
This report is the starting point for conversations and community planning by providing the evidence base for decisions on how best to address challenges and have an impact with the funds.
- You can tell us what they think of the data, how we should respond to it.
- People can offer time and expertise to tackle initiatives that address that improve our community outcomes.
- Some of us may choose to engage with community conversations facilitated to discuss particular themes or data.
Vital Sign Stories
Mental Health First Aid Training
May 12, 2020 Entire school community benefits from mental health training Empowering our youth through skill building Mirboo North Secondary College has trained teaching staff in Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) to build up a school program that aims to
Community Exercise
May 12, 2020 Community exercise activates older citizens Mobilising elderly citizens to keep them active and connected A free specialised weekly exercise group held in Yinnar to help mobilise elderly citizens to keep them active and connected to participating in their community has been a resounding
Saving the Forest with Science
May 12, 2020 Saving the forest with science Working with our environment The Mirboo North community successfully lobbied against state-owned logging company VicForests’ plans to log three native forest coupes. This great feat was achieved by the creation of extensive surveys initiated by