Community events and online tools and tips for rural people navigating a tough season.
A newly launched collaborative rural wellbeing recovery project, “Checking-in” will help rural communities across the North Island to come together through a series of in-person events and programmes this summer.
This is a challenging time for our farmers, growers, fishers and other rural people. Making time to pause to check-in on each other and focus on our personal and family wellbeing is key.
That’s why several rural organisations have come together to deliver Checking-in – a series of community events and online tools and tips for connection and resilience in a tough season,” said Lisa Sims of the Agri-Women’s Development Trust.
“Building-back is a marathon, not a sprint. We’ll need a few breaks along the way. Checking-in is all about making these breaks easy, fun and informative.”
Rural people can find local events and sign-up for a tools and tips email series at www.checking-in.co.nz.
Headlining the project is a series of community get-togethers, events and personal development programmes across the North Island, including AWDT YOU Matter programmes, Rural Women NZ supporting community Christmas events, Farmstrong comedy events and more.
Rural people across New Zealand are also invited to subscribe to the Checking-in tools and tips email series.
Delivered weekly, the 15-part series of short videos is about making the hard stuff manageable – like supporting young people through challenging times, managing emotions.
The series features rural leaders and resiliency experts:
• Sandra Matthews (a Tairāwhiti sheep and beef farmer and community leader)
• Steve Kearney (chief mental health officer for the NZ Defence Force)
• Michelle Ruddell (Ngati Tūwharetoa, dairy farmer and chair of the Northland Rural Support Trust)
• Dr Lucy Hone (director of the NZ Institute of Wellbeing and Resilience).
Checking-in is run by the Agri-Women’s Development Trust, Rural Women New Zealand and Farmstrong, with support from the Rural Support Trust.
The project is funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries as part of the NIWE (North Island Weather Event) response.
