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Wellbeing and employability

Location: Lismore
Status: Active
Partners: Selah Yoga, Northern Slopes Landcare Association (NSLA), Pius X Aboriginal Corporation Moree

A number of projects have been facilitated within the Lismore node, supporting the health and wellbeing of the community. Our Bingara Extension Officer has attended some of the Social and Emotional Wellbeing Arts and Crafts activities in Bingara, getting to know the community. She has also run workshops in Eco printing both in Bingara and Moree for the group.

The Just Breathe Project provides a range of easy yoga techniques for rural men, the aged and less mobile people each week for a period of 4 or 8 weeks. The three streams are the Just Breathe Project, the Sit and Stretch Project and the Men’s Stretch And Breathe Project.

The Living Classroom Community Nursery was funded by a FRRR program supported by the Rural Leadership Foundation, Australia. The program aims to increase community connectedness by bringing people together on a weekly basis to propagate plants and learn about plant identification. Our Bingara Extension Officer offers botanical expertise to the program. The community nursery Plant ID workshop provides landholders and community volunteers with the tools: e.g. how to use dichotomous keys, where to look in books, and who to ask in the community to identify native plants. This helps avoid accidental clearing and thus supports biodiversity. The nursery has been growing local trees useful for fodder and biodiversity to sell to local farmers.

Living Classroom Community Nursery  A group of people in outdoor clothing are sitting and standing on rocks in a wooded area, engaged in discussion or taking notes.
   
Just Breathe Project  A room with wooden floors and beige walls, set up for a class or event. Chairs and yoga mats are arranged in a spacious layout, with a few people organizing the space.

SQNNSW Innovation Hub 
Status: Active 

The Wellbeing and Employability project is a collaboration between University of Southern Queensland and University of Newcastle.

Together, they have developed a Rural Wellbeing Toolkit, a valuable resource that aims to help farmers, rural residents and support workers to identify and address the effects of drought-related stress.  

Phase two of this project is currently underway, with the development of a website that summarises the wide range of rural wellbeing resources available online. 

Learn more about the Rural Wellbeing Toolkit and other resources. 

Location: Stanthorpe
Status: Complete
Partners: Tackling Regional Adversity through Connected Communities (TRACC), Rural Aid, Rural Financial Counselling Services (RFCS), University of Newcastle

A number of topics were discussed at the Wellbeing Workshop, hosted by the Hub in Stanthorpe. TRACC, Rural Aid, Rural Financial Counselling Services and University of Newcastle presented important topics such as: 

  • fostering supportive communities
  • recognising signs of stress
  • navigating challenges and 
  • what to do when you recognise the signs. 

This event brought together producers, community members and industry professionals, all with a common interest to explore strategies for personal growth and discover ways to support those around us.

The group was reminded of the Rural Wellbeing Toolkit, recently developed by the hub, containing ideas and tips for anyone supporting the wellbeing of others in their rural community.

Watch the summary of the event video.

The node continues to support Wellbeing as part of the Primary Producer Recovery Taskforce that works in the community in the space of wellbeing.