Wellbeing event unites community
Module Overview
An evening event focussing on wellbeing tools for farmers and growers attracted more than 140 people – with some travelling far and wide to attend.
Harvesting Health: Wellbeing Tools For Rural Life was held last month in Rangiora, Canterbury.
North Canterbury Rural Support Trust hosted the evening with support from Farmstrong, Mainpower, Fonterra, Rabobank and FMG.
The aim was to pass on practical advice about how farmers and growers can manage farming challenges and keep well.
Rural Support Trust wellness coordinator Jenny Cations-Brown was pleased with the turnout.
“Some farmers had even come from Cheviot and Hurunui, which was a fair way to come. We had some good questions from the audience at the event and lots of positive feedback through our Messenger/Facebook afterwards.”
Jenny says it’s been a challenging time for farmers and growers in the area with recent drought conditions and community get-togethers are an important part of getting through tough times.
“One of the takeouts of the evening for me was how important it is to tell our own stories. There’s a lot of wisdom in rural communities and farmers listen to other farmers,” she says.
Star-studded line up of speakers
The event featured well-known figures from the local sporting scene including NZ Rugby high-performance campaign manager Shane Fletcher, who spoke about managing peak-performing teams; Crusaders lead physiotherapist John Roche, who shared how exercise positively influences health and wellbeing; and physiotherapist and mindfulness expert Jo Hopkinson-Haigh, who specialises in breathing techniques that reduce stress, anxiety and chronic pain.
Topping off the speaking roster was Otago high-country sheep and beef farmer and Farmstrong champion Jack Cocks (pictured above).
Jack has spent the past 11 years recovering from a life-threatening brain aneurysm and has been through multiple surgeries. He subsequently completed a Kellogg’s study of five farmers who had thrived in the face of major adversity. It showed they share three things in common: they know why they’re doing what they’re doing; they had great support from key people they connected with regularly, and they knew the things they needed to do in their lives to keep well and stay happy.
Jack has given more than 30 presentations, here and overseas, on how farmers can stay resilient and thrive in the face of adversity and regularly speaks on behalf of Farmstrong.
Staying connected with mates
Local beef farmer Paul Spark attended the event and says the evening was a good reminder of the importance of staying connected with mates and maintaining a positive outlook.
“Farming is seriously my dream job. I get up with a spring in my step every single morning and love it. You’ve just got to realise that nothing’s going to go your way all the time in farming and keep doing things that fill your cup,” Paul says.
To keep well and catch up with mates, Paul enters multisport events.
“I’ve done six Godzone adventure races. I also do lots of mountain biking and trail running.”
He also loves his hunting.
“I’m a mad keen pig hunter. I carry pig dogs with me the whole time on farm. If I see pigs, I’ll just cut loose the dogs and we’ll catch one during the week.”
He says when he goes out with his mates, they don’t talk about farming.
“We’re all farmers but we don’t talk about the weather or interest rates. There’s no point worrying about things you can’t control,” he says.
“The reality is life is not fair sometimes. You’re going to have hurdles, but I think everyone’s got so much more potential, resilience and strength in them than they’d ever believe.”
