Deep Collaboration and Consultation with Girls Talking Ag

The Girls Talking Ag (GTag) project is all about women telling good news stories of agriculture and sustainable land management to people in the cities and to people in the country.  The project is funded largely by the SQNNSW Innovation Hub with support from the Rural Economies Centre of Excellence (ReCOE) partnering with Catholic Care.

Stage one of the project has just seen a two-day workshop held in Mitchell, with recent workshops also held in Hebel, Cunnamulla and Charleville. The workshops were attended by a network of knowledgeable women graziers and grain producers, most of whom live in remote and/or isolated situations and all of whom are already involved in sustainable agriculture. All participants were genuine and enthusiastic in their motivation to attend and keen to continue their upskilling to find ways to tell their stories, advocate for agriculture and share their land stewardship ethos. Most contributed to a series of podcasts discussing their sustainable climate smart approach, motivations for sustainable production and what has helped/hindered the process.

Participant Nikki Thompson from Queensland Country Life noted “as the old quote goes, necessity is the mother of invention and living in rural areas where you don’t have everyone on tap as it can be in the cities, it is ideas and innovations shared that continually enliven. I so believe that we have much to share with each other and our urban counterparts that is vital for our future flourishing. It was humbling to hear each person’s stories as they slowly emerged. No bravado, but what everyone was doing playing a part in the health and well-being of the land and their families and communities.”

“These women and their families are the experts on the ground who are doing the research and implementing climate-smart ways to improve their land”, said Ben Lyons, Director of Rural Economies Centre of Excellence.

 “We wanted to hear their stories and provide an opportunity for them to connect and share stories with each other and facilitate the uptake of skills to amplify those stories”, said Marlyn McInnerney, RECoE Research Fellow and the Project Manager.  “We found that not only were they passionate land stewards but some of them already have quite amazing story-telling social media talents.”  Fynn de Daunton, Project Coordinator, added “The enthusiasm shown by all participants and groups was wonderful, and most of them have indicated they will participate in Stage 2 to enhance their story sharing skills”.

Stage two of the project commences in mid-April and will involve continued upskilling to a new level, with a series of zoom sessions on writing, telling stories through social media, podcasting and producing videos/reels for Instagram and YouTube, plus a one-on-one mentoring program.

For further information, please contact Marlyn.McInnerney@unisq.edu.au or Fynn.deDaunton@unisq.edu.au.