creating opportunities

MEDIA RELEASE

Thursday 28 October 2010

 

 

The Blue Print for the Bush funded Landholder Support Service Project has wrapped up its Naturally Resourceful Women's Workshop Series with a workshop in Bedourie on 20 & 21 October.

 

“During the past two years the workshops have been focusing on the issues that are being faced by rural and remote women and have covered isolated communities including Bedourie, Boulia, Eromanga and Tambo,” said Colleen James, Desert Channels Queensland (DCQ) Industry Liaison Officer, who orgainsed the series.

 

Across the four events there were 73 attendees including ladies from 33 pastoral properties, five shires and eight rural townships with benefits from the workshops reaching the wider communities through the networks formed.

 

“Although isolation is usually a huge barrier, we were able to create opportunities for rural women to build networks and access information and training that has often been difficult to receive in far western Queensland,” said Colleen. “After speaking with local women we tailored programs to suit the needs of each region with over 27 different topics covered across the eight days.”

 

The topics ranged from personal development, business development and Natural Resource Management. Partnerships between DCQ and many businesses and agencies allowed participants to build their professional networks and build on the training received.

 

“The workshop was certainly worthwhile, all the speakers were really approachable and we now have new contacts in the various fields that are available to us,” said Nina Mayne who travelled in from Tarabah Station near Tambo.

 

The Eromanga course reinvigorated Bernadette from Burkobulla through meeting with other women in the same situation and being reminded that there are a lot of good things about life out west. “You learn so much about yourself and how to run your life and business better,” she said.

 

Swift NRM’s Julia Telford who facilitated the workshops along with DCQ said by delivering Naturally Resourceful women's workshops, we aim to provide local women with the networks and tools to build on their resourceful nature, enhance their involvement in communities and develop their skills, knowledge and understanding about natural resource management and personal development.

 

Lisa Kelly who came in from Headingly Station for the Boulia workshop said, “It is good to be up-to-date on what is out there for the rural community – learning wise and funding wise. The course had a very friendly comfortable atmosphere.”

 

The Naturally Resourceful Workshops were an initiative of the Desert Channels Queensland Landholder Support Service Project that is funded by the Queensland Government’s Blueprint for the Bush Program in collaboration with Swift NRM.

 

ENDS