All event photos captured by: Spindrift Media
Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg swapped his scorching bowling arm for a bowls ball at Bridgetown Bowling Club on Monday night.
It was all part of a free community event organised by South West NRM, designed to spark important conversations about building personal and community resilience in the country – especially during tough times like drought.
Through his signature storytelling of high points and low points during a stellar sporting career, along with his upbringing on a 3rd generation wheat and sheep farm in the Wheatbelt town of Williams, Brad provided lots of laughs, memories and lessons he’d learned that could help others.
Prior to Brad’s keynote address, event attendees including Warren-Blackwood MLA Bevan Eatts and Bridgetown-Greenbushes CEO Garry Adams and Shire President Tracy Lansdell, hit the bowling green to break the ice and have some fun.
Building community resilience
Once inside, SWNRM Sustainable Agriculture Manager Peter Clifton provided an overview on the project which had inspired the event.
During 2024, the Community Resilience Network – delivered by South West NRM and supported by the Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund – sought to improve capability, coordination and collaboration between local organisations and groups for a greater collective impact when dealing with the social impacts of drought.
The project recognised that significant reductions in rainfall across the South West region over the past 50 years was creating unchartered territory for farmers in a traditionally high rainfall zone. And that increased pressure on agricultural businesses creating a negative flow-on effect for the communities which relied on them.
Across a 12-month period during 2024, with support from five community resource centres, South West NRM delivered six online workshops with nine expert presenters culminating in one vibrant community brainstorm.
The community impacts of drought
Peter spoke at this week’s event of the level of distress which gripped local producers during an extended period of dry weather across 2023 and 2024 creating drastic water and livestock feed shortages.
“Nobody’s made any money for 12 months,” he heard one farmer say.
Coincidentally, it was just as South West NRM was beginning work on the Community Resilience Network across five South West shires which grounded the project in eye-opening reality.
The result of project collaboration was production of a 36-page ‘toolkit’ called the ‘Community Drought Resilience Framework’ now available in print and online and officially launched at this week’s event.
The Framework is designed to help communities understand the broader impacts of drought and prepare to proactively manage those risks for reduced impact.
It also includes a handy Community Services Directory providing a comprehensive list of available resources in times of need.
Thanks to our project partners
Peter thanked all those who contributed to development of the resource including the participating Community Resource Centres at Boyup Brook, Bridgetown, Brunswick Junction, Donnybrook and Manjimup.
Special thanks to the Bridgetown Bowling Club for hosting our event and providing first class catering ensuring no one went home hungry.
“In finishing, I encourage you to look at the Framework for inspiration, the Directory of Support Services for help and to get to know some of the support services here today,” Peter told the crowd.
“Maybe one day you or someone you know might want to know who they can turn to when the going gets tough.”
The Community Resilience Network was supported by FRRR, through funding from the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund.
