Mallacoota Gun Club shooting for recovery

How the Mallacoota Gun Club focused on community-driven fire recovery efforts to plant trees, restore nature and support wildlife after the 2019-20 Eastern Victorian bushfires.

Mallacoota Gun Club, Treasurer, Dave Whittle wearing a blue shirt and leaning on a fence post in an outdoor field setting

The Mallacoota Gun Club is a tight knit community that lost its home in the 2019–20 Eastern Victorian bushfires.

‘We lost probably more than 90% of our facilities in the fire, it was pretty devastating for everybody,’ says Dave Whittle, Treasurer at Mallacoota Gun Club.

The bushfires also destroyed vegetation surrounding the club. This area was previously a haven for native birds, including the Glossy Black Cockatoo.

Club volunteers invested countless hours identifying opportunities to rebuild the club.

‘I decided I’d start applying for grants and we ended up with quite a few grants. We were extremely lucky to get those and build the facility that you can see today.’

Mallacoota Gun Club received funding through the Bushfire Recovery Grants for Nature-led Community Recovery Program. In partnership with Zoos Victoria, the program aims to support both the recovery of Victoria’s biodiversity and communities recovering from the 2019–20 Eastern Victorian bushfires.

The funding was used to purchase 1250 plants to establish a new wildlife corridor of local, endemic and indigenous plants. They’re hoping to reattract: