We have been reflecting on joy recently, such as how joy helps us combat the hard times, and reduces the threat of burn out and despair. Joy is defined as the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying. This is one of the core aspects of our work at Live Well Tasmania, whereby joy fosters trust, empathy, and a sense of belonging. When people experience joy together, it strengthens relationships and creates a foundation for collaboration and mutual support. Of course there is a wide variety of things that brings joy to different people, hence we try and facilitate a range of activities to bring people together and to spark joy.

We are very grateful to the Waratah-Wynyard Council for awarding us a grant to install heat pumps into our workshop area. We are also very grateful to the Department of Industry, Science and Resources Stronger Communities Program who awarded us most of the rest of the funds, and a final huge thank you to Hellyer District Girl Guides for their donation to help us purchase the heat pumps.

Community Centre Open Day

Our Open Day, part of the Spring Loaded Festival, saw some challenging torrential rain and while we hoped it wouldn’t dampen people’s spirits we did think it might be a barrier. Luckily we were wrong and were pleasantly surprised at all the new people who came along and who were curious to find out what Live Well is all about.

Our Sewers group did an apron demonstration and had great joy sharing all of the nifty things they make for the community such as wildlife sacks for injured wallabies. Our Crafty Crew had some of their beautiful handmade cards on display and our community give-away table was a huge hit.

Our growers team had been busy in the hothouse getting seedlings and bulbs ready for the big day and whilst the rain kept pedestrians away, those that came along on the day all left with arms full of pots and baked goods.

The highlight of the day was definitely our multicultural lunch and dessert. The room was full, with an amazing variety of food representing many different cultures. The atmosphere was lively and welcoming, filled with conversation, laughter, and a real sense of connection. It was a good reminder of how food can bring people together and celebrate the diversity within our community. Our guests enjoyed many vegetarian dishes and a long table communal experience where conversations were abundant. We hope everyone had a great experience and left with full bellies and lots of new connections.

Overall, the Open Day was a positive and engaging experience that strengthened community relationships and showcased the centre as a supportive and vibrant space for all. A sincere thank you goes to everyone who attended, contributed, and helped make the day a success.

Community Farm Open Day

It was not a perfectly sunny day but nonetheless we were blessed with a reasonably fine day. The mornings activities included a Treasure Hunt for the kids, and some Mindful Movement. We also had a plant sale including some give away bulbs, and a talk on preserving food.

We also engaged in some visioning about what could be achieved at the Community Farm a few years into the future. The vision included the building of a Community Centre from natural building materials, in which we envisaged the holding of bushdances, workshops ranging from permaculture, preserving food, and cooking classes, we also envisaged having a demonstration of a low cost transportable shelter/tiny house, as a potential means to help ease the housing crisis.

A huge thank you to the Mental Health Council of Tasmania for funding our BBQ, and thanks to the Cradle Coast Authority for funding our revegetation project and interpretation signs which we displayed on the day. And congratulations to the 9 winners of the raffle prizes!

And most of all a huge thank to our wonderful volunteers who made both Open Days a success!

Older Persons Mental Health Caregiving Support Group

We are excited to partner with Aislin Gleeson who aims to start an Older Persons Mental Health Caregiving Support Group in the North-West. We know that being part of a group where others share similar experiences helps individuals feel less alone. Support groups provide a non-judgmental environment where people can express their thoughts and emotions freely, and benefit from sharing knowledge and experience.

Mark your diary for a gathering on the 4th of December at the Live Well Community Centre, enjoy a creative arts project and shared lunch, all free.

Mindfulness Training

We are very lucky to have a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction course being delivered at our Centre. This course helps with finding more clarity, energy and groundedness, and helps cultivate the skills, attitude and knowledge in part to allow the freedom to consiously choose our responses in day to day life. It is an 8 week course, please contact Mindfulness Programs Australasia to find out more on 0488 064 228.

Climate Change Workshops

We have been lucky to get a couple of grants to run some climate change workshops. There are two main aims from the workshops, first to build capacity to adapt to and reduce climate change, and second to build community capacity more broadly. More details in our next newsletter!

Community Based Income Update

A huge thank you to all those who signed our petition, or completed the online petition. We were very happy in a short space time to collect the following:

 -13 letters of support (from Council Mayors, local politicians, economists, commentators on social policy and organisations such as the Mental Health Council of Tasmania)

– A government e-petition with 111 signatures 

– An online Open Petition – with 61 signatures and ongoing, this includes comments as to people’s reasons for supporting the request

–  Expressions of support from 154 members of the community

We are now waiting to hear back from the Minister of Social Services about funding for the trial, and in the meantime are continuing conversations to increase support for the trial.

We have built on the concept of ‘mental wealth’ to help capture the benefits of a CBI; just like material goods are an asset to help people live a good life, our mental assets are vital to help us a live a good life, and more than that, are important to build capacity for collective decision making. So not only does mental wealth help achieve living a good life, it also helps strengthen communities and societies to deal with current challenges.

Healthy Tasmania Forum

We were invited to the Healthy Tasmania Forum in Launceston a few days ago, the theme for which was “Sharing, Learning, Growing”, which is also a really good tag line for community development. The forum was a good mix of talks on systems thinking, as well as a Community Showcase of projects funded by Healthy Tasmania.

At left is an illustration drawn by the talented graphic artist Kylie on the day from our Live Well Tasmania talk about our Healthy Tasmania funded projects, these projects involved delivering health and wellbeing workshops, establishing working shares for our veggie boxes (a free veggie box in return for help with packing the boxes), and establishing our walking tracks at our Community Farm. Our talk included how ‘from little things big things grow’, that although these were small projects, they have had a lasting impact by building capacity in both individuals and in our organisation generally. We also talked about how important joy is to sustain the work towards ‘care of people and care of place’.

Healthy Soil, Healthy Food and Healthy People – Bronwyn Holm Tour

Ever wished you could grow lush, vibrant food in Tasmania with just one spray and a little weekly watering? Now you can!

Join us for an unmissable FREE talk at a club or group near you. We’re diving deep (pun intended!) into the secrets of soil health, effortless gardening, freedom to best health and the magic of living nitrifying soil microbes.

Meet Bronwyn Holm, all the way from Brisbane, Queensland! Bronwyn is a dedicated regenerative soil advocate and the mastermind behind the brand Earthfood – the microbe-rich solution that transforms your dirt into living, fertile soil so your plants thrive. No pesky insects, weeds or compacted dead dirt.

Whether you’re a seasoned green thumb or just getting your hands dirty for the first time, Bronwyn will share how Earthfood can help you create a living ecosystem in your garden – one where nature does the hard work for you. Be lazy and allow Mother Nature to care for your needs.

Bring your questions, your curiosity, and your gardening dreams. You’ll leave with the knowledge (and unique soil microbes) to bring your soil, and your garden, to life.

Thu 20 Nov, 6:30pm
Live Well Centre, 28 Saunders St, WYNYARD