@article {bnh-8307, title = {Supporting new volunteers: a resource kit for emergency service volunteer leaders}, number = {720}, year = {2022}, month = {01/2022}, institution = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Melbourne}, abstract = {

The 2019-20 Australian bushfires ({\textquoteleft}Black Summer{\textquoteright}) caused a spike in volunteer inquiries. The devastating impact the bushfires had on the environment, animal populations, and the homes and livelihood of many Australians prompted considerable interest in volunteering for emergency services. Absent large-scale disasters, attracting and retaining volunteers are major challenges for emergency volunteer brigades, groups, and units (BGUs). However, the aftermath of the 2019-20 bushfires left volunteer leaders and managers with little guidance as to how they can properly onboard, support, lead, and manage the sudden influx of new volunteers and ensure that they are prepared for future bushfire seasons. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic that followed the bushfires shortly after left an increased appetite for online learning as face-to-face training was sometimes not possible.

Following the work of the Enabling Sustainable Emergency Volunteering project[1], as well as through research conducted with the Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES), the Supporting New Volunteers: A Resource Kit for Emergency Service Volunteer Leaders was proposed and created with the intention of providing both volunteers and staff members within emergency services organisations the guidance and tools to better support volunteer recruitment, onboarding, and leadership. These are research-based resources designed to complement and reinforce existing training and support available within emergency service organisations.

There are three modules available within the resource kit:

These modules contain resources that drew from real-life volunteer case studies and the available research evidence. The training information includes short (2-4 minute) training videos, volunteer interviews, {\textquoteleft}tip sheets{\textquoteright}, checklists, case studies, thinking exercises, reflection exercises, and editable templates.

It is hoped that these accessible and practical resources will empower and support volunteer leaders and emergency service staff members in their mission to attract, support, manage, and retain current and future volunteers in BGUs.

}, keywords = {emergency service, leaders, resource, training, volunteers}, issn = {720}, author = {Patrick Dunlop and Hawa Farid and Maryl{\`e}ne Gagn{\'e} and Darja Kragt} } @conference {bnh-5396, title = {Evaluation of TanDEM-X and DEM-H digital elevation models over the Condamine-Balonne catchment}, booktitle = {Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium (HWRS 2018): Water and Communities }, year = {2018}, month = {2018}, publisher = {Monash University }, organization = {Monash University }, abstract = {

A digital elevation model (DEM) is a three-dimensional representation of the Earth surface showing mountain peaks, valley floors, rivers and lakes. DEMs are an essential input for the application of environmental and flood models and, for large catchments,these datasets are produced using data collected by instruments on-board satellite missions. However, data collected from such techniques are inevitably affected by inaccuracies which have to be accurately understood and evaluated in order to allow the implementation of any numerical model. This study evaluated the accuracy of the recently released 12 m resolution TanDEM-X (German Aerospace Center) and the widely used 30 m resolution DEM-H (Geoscience Australia). One of the most important sources of inaccuracy in satellite-derived DEMs is a dense vegetation canopy. This problem is particularly important in dryland catchments, where vegetation is not uniformly distributed across the landscape but often concentrates along the river corridors. The Condamine-Balonne catchment, a low-gradient dryland area in Queensland, offers a representative case study. Satellite-derived DEMs were compared with more than 600 ground control points, three LiDAR datasets, and over 60 ground measured river cross sections. This analysis allowed the evaluation of the capability of the satellite-derived DEMs to reproduce (i) surface elevation at the point scale, (ii) river channels and floodplain morphology, and (iii) catchment slope along the river network. TanDEM-X performed better at the point scale and in transects with sparse vegetation resulting in Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) values respectively 0.30 m and 0.12 m lower than the DEM-H. However, TanDEM-X was affected by large errors in densely vegetated areas. Moreover, the enforcement of hydrological connectivity is required. This analysis offers useful insight for the application of TanDEM-X and DEM-H data for environmental and flood modelling in the Condamine-Balonne catchment and in similar dryland areas.

}, keywords = {condamine-balonne, hydrology, resource, water}, isbn = {9781925627183}, url = {https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=134740719984631;res=IELENG}, author = {Ankun Wang and Stefania Grimaldi and Saif Shaadman and Yuan Li and Valentijn Pauwels and Jeffrey Walker} }