Drought Resilience Leaders

A Moment for Me Picnic & Paint

Encourages connection, social and community cohesion as well as equipping women with the information and confidence to encourage conversations that support and offer pathways to actively manage (and seek help for) self, family and community care during the mentally challenging times of drought.

A Moment for Me is a series of coordinated events hosted by and for local women in Muttaburra, Isisford, Blackall and Stonehenge. Events will feature guest speakers from Outback Futures in conjunction with activities provided by Sip & Dip and LucyAnn Artistry.

Events give communities the ability to strengthen their resilience to mental wellbeing through reliable tools and strategies at their ‘fingertips’. It will give members of each community an understanding of the Weathering Well app and how to source more experienced help where needed.

The grant will support local events whilst aligning funds for promotion and engagement of event partners.

Why Work Out West? An Investigation

Build networks and encourage local people to find innovative solutions to local problems and initiate a change to the way people approach labour shortages.

Why Work Out West? An Investigation is a regionalised enquiry about labour shortages. The community has an opportunity to fast track its recovery from drought and build resilience through solid employment in varied sectors.

Through two workshops and a local survey, the project will bring together key stakeholders (local businesses, local families and community members, council, RAPAD, local Members) who, with the assistance of a facilitator, will connect, share ideas and ultimately create adaptive, innovative and actionable solutions.

The grant will contribute to the running and management of workshops and other resources to undertake the survey.

MLA & AWI MeatUp Forum 2022

To bring together over 100+ producers from around Western Queensland, at a forum focussed on drought planning, enterprise diversification and market options with an additional focus on personal wellbeing in order to improve business and community wellbeing.

MLA and AWI have collaborated to deliver the MeatUp Forum. As an event partner, the Leading Sheep Committee will host an agribusiness and community dinner and will engage a wellbeing and motivational presenter to tie in the key drought and resilience messages of the MeatUp Forum.

Industry and local stakeholders recognise the transition for the region as it adapts to extended drought, moving from traditional merino sheep and beef cattle to more diverse models of adding sheep meat and goats to existing livestock.

The flexibility and resilience of the local agricultural industry will rely on the wellbeing of the people making this change. The Forum will stimulate a mindset where producers and attendees have a renewed sense of identity and purpose in order to contribute to their business and community’s long-term sustainability. 

The grant will ensure drought resilience and mental health issues are prominent at the forum. Other Forum and event costs are being covered through MLA and AWI.

Regenerative Rangelands; Abundant Landscapes and Vibrant Communities

To enhance the health of ecosystems and pastures under the care of landscape managers, in a manner that improves their resilience to drought. Regenerative Rangelands; Abundant Landscapes and Vibrant Communities consists of:

• creating a "virtual tour": a series of short, engaging, digital videos, shared within a supportive, peer-to-peer community, that will connect innovative graziers and showcase examples where positive practice change is successfully regenerating land in the semi-arid to arid zone.
• the development of a landscape rehydration demonstration site/s within the Central West. This has been identified as a high impact, low-cost catalyst to widespread change, resulting in good environmental outcomes and positive returns for graziers.
• a field day that focuses on enhancing community engagement around adaptive practices that build resilience into landscapes and highlights emerging opportunities concerning environmental markets.      The grant will support the project team to collaborate and draw on their respective strengths and capacity to reach the broader community.

Two Ducks

Establish and manage a community garden in Winton which is sustainable, drought tolerant and provides a wellbeing place to enhance community resilience.

This is a new project for the community that will bring to life a community resource that employs the principles of a circular economy to increase the security of members food supply.

This small-scale community infrastructure investment to foster connectedness and improve wellbeing has a long-term vision of feeding the local LGA (1000pax), generate employment and secure fresh food for the region.

It will be a community space to enhance opportunities for social interaction amongst members, through the provision of Bush Tucker, medicinal and food production areas.

The grant will fund a landscape designer, material and tools required for initial establishment and support for a consultant to assist in setting the strategy for a long-term project.

End of Harvest Ball 2022

Bringing farming families together - facilitating social and community connection whilst providing education on topics including mental health.

Building on the success of the inaugural ball in 2021 and the continued community interest in hosting an event that celebrates agriculture, the End of Harvest Ball provides an opportunity for farming families to gather to gather off farm.

The Greater Shepparton Shire Council is supporting the event and neighbouring Councils have been asked to sponsor attendance of their primary producer family.

The grant will support the participation of local primary producers from the Shepparton Shire to attend. 

Goulburn Valley, Victoria

Growing Connections and resilience for Youth in agriculture

The project is a no-cost luncheon event for any interested 18-35 year olds who are early career farmers or agricultural professionals in the Goulburn Valley region of Victoria. The theme of the event is around pathways to farming and careers in agriculture, setting goals, improving mindsets and building resilience. The event will connect young farmers and young agricultural consultants with each other and build a network where the community can be stronger and more resilient to drought through knowledge sharing. Building these networks and exchanging ideas is critical in preparing for future drought.

Connecting our emerging leaders - talking today to tackle tomorrow

The project will hold a workshop about how to develop and support emerging leaders across the community. It will bring together those working within agencies involved in natural resource management, community representatives and members from the Goulburn Murray Resilience taskforce to share knowledge, create connections, and discuss further engagement and networking models. Building resilience through collaboration is critical in ensuring the region is better prepared for drought. This workshop is place based – focusing on how the region can work together to ensure the future leaders of the area are as well prepared and connected as can be.

North West Slopes & Plains, NSW

Bringing Bonshaw Together

The project will hold a series of workshops that aim to establish a group for women across the community to help develop resilience. Drought has impacted the social fabric of the Bonshaw community with networks becoming fragmented. The workshops will promote social and community connection through gatherings of local mothers and daughters, while also brainstorming community resilience. A focus throughout the workshops will be on how the community can develop plans and strategies to mitigate the impacts of drought, bush fires, floods and climate change. The workshops are taking place with the support of the Bonshaw Hall Committee.

Good to go Ag Finance Workshop

This project will entail a one-off workshop that will include a host of guest speakers with a focus on financial management in agricultural communities. Focused on drought resilience and the ability to adapt in response to a changing climate, the workshop will aim to improve economic resilience and financial management across communities in the region. There will also be a mental health component to the workshop with a guest speaker that specialises in mental health in rural communities.

Bush dancing for community connection and resilience

The project will involve bush dances in the Graman and Elsmore community halls. These regions were very badly affected by the last drought and this project aims to increase connectivity across the community. The concept of a bush dance was decided upon as a participatory and fun event for the wider community to get to know each other better, as well as have some time out from the stresses of the current recovery phase of the drought cycle.

My Drought Story

This project is a digital media and awareness campaign that will be implemented across previously drought affected areas of NSW. The project will encourage people in drought impacted communities to share their experiences of drought through the submission of images and stories. There will be a focus on images that show ‘during’ and ‘after’ the drought. These contributions will be shared on specifically designated social media platforms. Selected images will then be collated into a book which will be launched at a chosen regional location and gifted to contributors, local libraries and partnering agencies.

Western NSW

Building Resilience Skills in Bush Kids

The project will aim to deliver resilience building skills to parents and children in rural and remote Western NSW through a workshop from Kalm Kids. These workshops will be on the back of mobile preschool sessions already taking part across Western NSW. The workshop will be an interactive session with the children on foundation skills needed for building resilience. The recent prolonged drought had a significant financial, mental and emotional impact across Western NSW and this project will assist in building resilience for children during difficult times.

Community Kickstart

The project aims to support regional not-for-profit organisations and to build resilience in the community by strengthening networks. The grantees will facilitate a workshop for not-for-profit organisations to assist in building community reach and engagement. This will be followed by an open day in which these organisations can engage with the local community. A directory of not-for-profit organisations in the region will also be published and distributed across the community. The project aims to bolster the support networks available for drought and other challenges.

Connecting Bush Families

The project will transform facilities and provide resources for families within the Bourke and Central Darling Shires. Existing indoor and outdoor community spaces in these communities will be upgraded and modernised to encourage families to attend and be involved in all community events. With a focus on children and families, this project will create physical environments conducive to early learning and storytelling. The project aims to increase social resilience within families living in the drought impacted regions of Louth, Tilpa and Engonnia.

Building Capacity for Rural Leaders to Support Emotional Resilience in their Local Communities

This project will partner with Outback Futures (Qld) to train community leaders across Western NSW in how to lead their rural communities to develop and implement social and emotional resilience initiatives. Local community members across Western NSW will be offered a training program relevant to their community. The training will aim to build facilitation and support skills amongst participants that can then be applied to develop community initiatives that build resilience and provide networks of support.

The Decision-Making Process for Livestock Producers

The project will engage industry experts across Western NSW to facilitate a focus group, survey and workshop for individuals across the region working in agriculture. This will lead to a report being produced that identifies the primary challenges that exist for livestock producers in the region, with a focus on decision making practices. The most recent drought is the catalyst for this project, with the aim being to gain a better understanding of the challenges the community may face in the future.

A night for Western Women

The project will entail an event with a keynote speaker that will focus on the wellbeing of women in the community and resilience building in business. The event will acknowledge and address the mental health challenges caused by drought and social isolation experienced by women during challenging times. The aim will be to build and strengthen networks in preparation for future challenges.

Murraylands, South Australia

Farmer Resilience in a Changing Environment

The project will deliver an introductory workshop to basic holistic farming models for regional graziers. Working with the Yankalilla Agriculture Advisory Network, the workshop will address the current climatic trends across the Fleurieu and the risk of reduced rainfall in the future. By exploring the basics behind resilient and holistic farming ideas and methods, the workshop is intended to support farmers to overcome a changing environment. Benefits for the wellbeing of the broader community are also expected.  

Slow Down for the Bend

The project will entail an evening of entertainment highlighting the necessity of self-care, community connectedness and providing resources for good mental health. As regional communities face an increased number of challenges, the aim of this project is to strengthen social and community connectedness. Building and maintaining these connections will be critical for future droughts and other challenging times.

Building Resilience in Bowhill

The project aims to build resilience in the community through a workshop for local women in the Mallee. The workshop will bring together a range of women across the region including farmers and local business owners. It will build and strengthen social connectedness across the community, and establish a network that can support the community in future drought.

Eyre Peninsula, South Australia

Tales of Eyre

The project will develop a series of 'podcast' style episodes, featuring four interviews with community members from the Wudinna district. The aim of the project is to encourage connection, conversation and understanding across district by speaking with people about the hardships that come with living in a remote community. The interviews will be circulated and promoted across the community to maximise reach. There will be a focus on managing and preparing for future challenging times.

A stronger Eyre Peninsula to strengthen drought resilience

The project will create a community reference group and work with them to develop a narrative for Port Lincoln through the lens of its seafood tourism industry. The narrative will inform signage at the Lincoln Cove marina. This project supports the council’s strategy to refresh the area for tourism which is important to the town’s economic viability, particularly during drought. Importantly, the process itself will also allow the community to build a network and work collaboratively, which will better prepare them for working together on future challenges caused by drought.