Lismore’s Northern Star donates $20k to help flood-affected kids with REgener8

Children will take to nature to help come to terms with the latest natural disaster to rock the Northern Rivers of NSW.

She may have been personally affected by the devastating floods that rocked Northern NSW but that won’t stop one dedicated educator from helping young children heal the wounds of our latest natural disaster.

Northern Rivers eco-educator Cate McQuillen, the producer behind the series Dirtgirlworld and Get Grubby TV, said the 2019 bushfires and the impact they had on children inspired her to create the REgener8 program.

Ms McQuillen said children would help raise seedlings and grow and gift plants to the community while learning about the habitat around them.

Ms McQuillen said the program used nature to help kids “reconnect and normalise the relationship with nature” after disaster.

She said the concept was about supporting school-aged children’s wellbeing.

Northern NSW TV producer and eco-educationalist Cate McQuillen hopes to help children heal from floods through nature. Picture: Tessa Flemming

Ms McQuillen’s prop department, tech headquarters and rehearsal spaces for her programs were all inundated during the floods, with recovery expected to take up to two years.

Despite that, she said was inspired to use the platform to show children a story of resilience.

“If you are a kid you can get a little bit confused about who your friends are,” she said.

“Rather than being defeated by that combination of cascading catastrophes, we have an opportunity to interrupt that despair and instead rewire, replant and reseed those memories for kids by adding some joy and connecting back to nature.

A State Emergency Service image shows floodwaters inundating the northern NSW city of Lismore.

“It’s not just about supporting kids it’s about supporting the community in a can-do attitude.”

She said REgener8’s work taking kids outside to learn to trust nature again was “imperative”.

“We wanted the youngest members of this community to feel like they’ve got a meaningful contribution, that they’ve got an authentic role to play,” Ms McQuillen said.

“Resilience isn’t going to come, that deep-seated resilience, from telling kids to be resilient or by colouring in.

“What we can do is give them a role in recovery and that role is to be the plant growers of their neighbourhoods.”

Local Heroes Rebuilding Communities.

When the floods hit Northern Rivers earlier this year, News Corporation Australia announced a $1 million commitment to hard hit communities.

Our News In The Community program has been working with St Vincent de Paul and other charity groups on the ground to allocate the funds.

As part of that commitment, News Corp Australia has donated a total of $200,000 to nine flood relief community initiatives and one flood-affected individual in the worst-hit regions.

The REgener8 program will benefit from a $20,000 donation.

The funding will be spent at a lower Richmond River school, helping create raised garden beds and greenhouses and facilitate eco-focused workshops.

“Growing takes time and growing takes care - as does healing,” Ms McQuillen said.

“And if you can see something springing and growing and flourishing, it’s like living hope.

“You don’t plant trees if you don’t believe in a future.”

For more information on how you can help, head to mememe.com.au

Download a copy of the R U OK? Mateship Manual to find out how you can help someone doing it tough after natural disaster.