One of its organisers was rural wellbeing advocate Sarah Donaldson, a clinical psychologist, based near Martinborough, specialising in rural health.
Building more resilient communities is a topic close to her heart. She lives on a sheep and beef farm and also works for the East Coast Rural Support Trust.
One of her main tips for farmers is to schedule recovery time to relieve stress and avoid burnout.
This year, the local rural industry group, with support from Wairarapa Bush Rugby Union, went a step further and organised an off-farm event for 160 of them.
“Post-spring we know a lot of farmers feel really under the pump and need time out to have a bit of fun and especially reconnect with others. We were also aware that there are a lot of pressures facing the industry right now and an event like this would be great for morale.”
Donaldson and a team of volunteers ran a touch rugby tournament every Wednesday for three weeks. Each week they also put on a barbecue and wrapped up the tournament with a prize giving. Even the prizes were on-theme.
“Instead of just having caps and drink bottles we asked businesses to donate prizes that gave people time out, have fun with others or a new experience, so we got movie vouchers and family passes, accommodation vouchers, a season’s pass for an adult and child to the Hurricanes.
“I think people were pretty blown away by the amazing generosity of our local community,” she said.
The organisers went to great lengths to ensure the tournament was as inclusive as possible.
“We were keen to do something that was not just about the guys but whole communities. So, in our format, there’s six players a side and three have to be either under 12, over 50 or female. That makes it way more family friendly. But it was still competitive.”
The response from locals was immediate and 16 teams entered with very little promotion required.
“We were absolutely stoked. The coolest thing was they were a real mix. We had young farmers who put in teams, we had farm teams and we had community teams and down-our-road teams with different families and farms combining. The youngest player was four and oldest was 60-something.
“One of my favourite comments was from a female dairy farmer who told me ‘This is such an awesome thing because we get so used to sticking to our industry but here we are mixing with the sheep and beef crew too’. People found that refreshing.”
Donaldson said timing was crucial.
“We targeted that window after calving and docking and just before AI and weaning. That meant we had roughly a month to get people off farm for a breather. We decided on three weeks to make it short and sweet so people didn’t have to over-commit. I think we hit the nail on the head because though people were saying they want more, actually I think it was the perfect amount of time.”
Funds raised from the event have been used to buy a radio telephone for the Rural Support Trust to respond to urgent situations in areas with poor cellphone coverage.
Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive and Donaldson and her team are likely to run something similar next year.
“The format and the way it ran ticked all the boxes for increasing people’s wellbeing – people felt connected and valued, they were embracing something new, keeping active, doing simple stuff that gave them the feel-good factor and giving back to their community.”
“Those are the five ways to wellbeing. No wonder people got a buzz out of it.”
Sarah’s top tips
Schedule recovery time – When you’re busy, think about mini and micro breaks. What are the opportunities in your day or your week to recover and recharge? A family picnic up the farm, a social game of tennis, coffee with a mate in town? It’s about being smart.
Stay connected – Social media is handy but nothing beats face-to-face. Go to your local pub or cafe for an hour to chew the fat. It just releases the valve a bit. If you notice other people stop coming out, go and see them – rock up for a cup of tea.
Practice the five ways to wellbeing – These are the things we need more than ever when we are under pressure. Even if you have to scale them down because you are busy, doing some is better than none.
Focus on what you can control – When you have seasonal conditions, focusing on what is within your control and managing within those limitations is a biggie.
Try to reframe things and remember what is working – It is easy to get skewed to the negative. Instead, ask yourself ‘What’s going well?’ Remind yourself, for example, that good prices can provide a buffer to offset some of the challenges ahead.
