The Program

The Resilience Canopy is a community-led resilience building movement, creating a ripple effect of transformation embedded in communities across Australia for many generations to come.
The challenge now
Across Australia, communities are being hit by more than disasters—they’re being overwhelmed by the compounding pressures of financial stress, social isolation, housing instability, mental health challenges, and climate-related shocks like fires and floods.

These challenges don’t just stretch local systems—they expose existing cracks in communities– especially for people already facing disadvantage.

This reactive approach leaves communities more vulnerable and dependent, and repeating cycles of damage and repair.
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The Resilience Canopy
The way forward
Communities know their challenges better than anyone. Strong, connected and prepared communities are crucial for Australia’s ability to withstand and adapt to the shocks and stresses of unexpected events and societal challenges. ​

The Resilience Canopy is a nation-wide program that provides communities with the skills and frameworks they need to lead their own future ready plans. It connects communities with a network of potential partners who can help deliver on those plans through investment, expertise or in-kind support.
Read on to find out more

How it works

1. Train
2. Activate
3. Connect
4. Share
1. Train
We train and support local people to become Resilience Canopy Practitioners—equipping them with the skills, tools, and confidence to put resilience-building into practice in their own communities. Everyone is welcome to undertake the training, whether they are individual community members or part of a team working in an organisation. Learn more.

Our Goal

2000 community resilience practitioners Australia-wide by 2030 to activate resilience conversations in their communities.

Ready with the skills, our trained practitioners support their communities to explore strategies and actions to overcome their identified challenges

2. Activate
With guidance from a Resilience Canopy Practitioner, or by using Canopy’s open-access resources, a community comes together to begin the Six-Step process - exploring the strengths, challenges, and opportunities that shape their future.  It’s a process that takes time and commitment from both community members and supporters. The result? A living roadmap of strategies and actions that strengthens the community’s ability to adapt, respond, and thrive.

Our Goal

Empower and activate 500 communities across Australia to undertake their own resilience building journey.

Communities moving through their resilience building journey will identify the support they need to put their plans into action

3. Connect
With plan and priorities established, we help connect communities with potential partners who can help them implement their strategies - by investing their time, knowledge or funds.

Our Goal

Grow a network of 200 partners across the corporate and for-purpose sectors, and 250 local government partners to assist communities implement their goals.

A resilience movement needs to connect all the knowledge, learning and networks of people together so that they continue to teach and share with other communities, which creates that ripple effect of generational resilience.

4. Share
Canopy House provides an online platform for the growing network of capable, connected and more resilient Canopy Communities, Practitioners and Supporters to share their insights and opportunities, and access resources.

Our Goal

Build an entire community of practice, connected online, to strengthen Australia's locally-led resilience movement

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A different approach to resilience

Resilience beyond disaster thinking

Disruption can happen in many different ways:

  • Shocks - heatwaves, floods, pandemics, bushfires, cyberattacks, infrastructure failures.
  • Stresses - poverty, inequality, mental health, isolation, rapid population growth - all the things that can erode the strength of our social fabric over time.  

That’s why we get communities to examine all aspects of their societal resilience. We see the impact when all of these are strengthened.

Support the program

Instead of disasters devastating somewhere that is socially vulnerable, we want to see strong, connected and resilient communities who have worked to bounce forward, together.

Led by communities, supported by organisations

We see the opportunity in helping communities transform themselves so they can bounce forward from any setback.

Organisations have a vital role in supporting communities to confidently respond to future challenges – by empowering them to design their own future and then seek support. This flips the script on traditional approaches of decisions being made for communities, without their input.

C.R.E.W.

At the centre of a Resilient Community

What characteristics does a resilient Canopy Community have in common? Connection, respect, empowerment, and wisdom, also known as CREW.

Connection

Social and cultural connections – to place, friends, neighbours, people of influence – provide vital support networks and deep bonds that strengthen collective resilience.

Respect

Respect and inclusion build trust and encourage diverse perspectives and strong networks. This enables greater adaptability and collective problem solving.

Empowerment

Putting the pen in the hands of the community to take collective ownership, find solutions and act in their own way to create lasting positive change.

Wisdom

Wisdom is beyond knowledge; it is the communities’ capacity to act with insight and experience drawn from more than one perspective over more than one lifetime.

A model to reimagine resilience

The Six-Step Future Ready Communities Model is a community engagement approach designed to support the true meaning of community-led resilience building. Each of the Six-Steps are designed to unpack community aspirations and lead them through the decisions and actions that will make the greatest impact.    

A network of resilience -

Canopy House, our online portal

Canopy House is a one-stop hub for Resilience Canopy practitioners, communities, and partners—offering valuable resources, connections, and tools to support your resilience-building journey.  Here you’ll find..

  • Community stories, profiles, resilience plans
  • Ways to connect with other practitioners and communities
  • Pathways to resilience training
  • Resources for resilience building
Take me there

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the program all about disasters?
No, but communities who continue to be hit by disasters are often in need of building their community resilience in order to withstand adapt and come out stronger in the face of these impacts.

Many other critical issues impact how prepared communities are for the unknown. The Resilience Canopy considers both natural and human-caused disasters and other stressors such as the impact of homelessness, mental health and wellbeing and economic changes.
How is resilience different to preparedness?
Preparedness is about the actions communities can take to ‘prepare for’ disasters ‘before they occur’.  Relief and recovery efforts happen ‘after’ a disaster occurs.  Resilience building is different because its focus is on ‘strengthening and connecting’ communities for all types of shocks (like fires and floods) and stresses (like economic or social impacts).

We know that communities that are stronger will respond and recover more quickly from any type of expected event or disaster. When we take community resiliency beyond disaster response or relief, we can begin to address the consequences of systemic disadvantages. Boosting resilience means strengthening communities and enhancing their health in a way that will reduce the negative impacts of challenges both present and future.
How do I get involved?
You can be part of a community group designing and delivering on a resilient future through priority setting and action planning – see Communities. You can become a resilience champion through our training.  You can be a partner or giver of your time, resources and knowledge.  You can sign-up for our Newsletter, or connect with us on social media and share your learnings and success stories.
What are the key principles of The Resilience Canopy?
  • We support communities to identify and articulate their priorities because resilience doesn’t always come from a plan.
  • We help communities to find their own path to resilience because it looks different in every community. To deliver on their ideas to tackle challenges, they can take actions or advocate themselves, or in conjunction with authorities, or choose to activate their own partnerships.
  • We mentor leaders to build capacity and keep teaching resilience for an enduring legacy.
  • We seek to work with communities where the need is the greatest.
  • We equip communities to lead collectively and build connections in an environment of empowerment and respect.
  • We amplify the existing wisdom of communities.
  • We acknowledge and respect Indigenous wisdom, and intergenerational knowledge.
How does The Resilience Canopy support vulnerable people
Many communities face social or environmental issues that heighten their vulnerability. Additional factors like poverty, social isolation, disability, mental or chronic illness and cultural barriers can put these people in these communities at greater risk during tough times.  When shocks happen to a whole community, vulnerable people can be pushed further into crisis. 

Our mission is to support those already experiencing hardship, helping them build resilience for the future. When local people generate solutions to build connection, respect and inclusion, this builds a social net that means those at risk are left to fall further behind.
Why are you called The Resilience Canopy?
Notice the reach of a tree’s branches and leaves providing shelter and shade. The way the tree stands tall and strong amongst the busy life inside and around it.
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A Resilience Canopy, with strongly connected branches driving down into the earth’s foundations is something that can be grown together by communities in order to withstand shocks and stresses and to re-emerge stronger.  Communities who are strong and connected are more challenge-ready – just like the canopy of a tree.