Central Otago farmers and growers will get a chance to add to their resiliency toolkit over the coming weeks.

A series of free online lunchtime talks will take place from next week, featuring three of New Zealand’s highly regarded motivational speakers on resilience and mental wellbeing.

Federated Farmers, in conjunction with the Dairy Women’s Network and DairyNZ, secured funding from Worksafe’s Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund to host the event.

Dr Lucy Hone will kickstart a three part series of free online talks about resilience and mental wellbeing to benefit the rural sector.

Co-director of the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing & Resilience Dr Lucy Hone will kickstart the series on January 25 by highlighting the ‘Secrets of Resilient People’.

She said she was looking forward to working with farmers and growers.

“I have so much respect for the work they do to keep us all fed and their massive contribution to the economy.

“Farming is a tough gig at the best of times and these are not easy times.”

Dr Hone will share some practical ways of thinking and acting to can help people cope with challenge, uncertainty and change.

“The tools we share are not fluffy or trivial, but profoundly useful. 

“They’re backed by science and really make a difference if you’re willing enough to be open minded and consider how the way you currently operate works for you . . . or not!”

The second talk in the series, called The Challenge of Change, on February 1, will feature Dr Paul Wood, an expert in helping people and organisations strive towards their potential and flourish through change and adversity.

Dr Wood works with everyone from senior leaders at Google to at-risk teens.

The final in the series, taking place on February 8, will include a talk by Dr Tom Mulholland called The Power of Healthy Thinking.

Dr Mulholland has led an expeditionary clinical life for the past 30 years.

He has worked clinically in hospitals, surf camps and on Russian icebreakers and was the first ambassador for Farmstrong.

Ultimately, he has seen the highs and lows of the human condition.

Isolation and the sometimes stressful nature of agriculture, meant there was a lot of pressure on rural families.

Federated Farmers employment spokesman Chris Lewis said the added restrictions, health risks and supply chain issues of Covid-19 had “added another significant layer to that stress burden”.

The talk is expected to be invaluable to a lot of people.

“It would be hard to find a more down-to-earth, practical and inspiring line-up of speakers on the topic of handling adversity than these three,” Chris said.

“They speak from the heart, from personal experience and from sound knowledge and research.”

The three-part series will be MCd by Central local, television journalist and author Matt Chisholm, who has spoken candidly about his own challenges.

People can register for any or all of the talks here: https://www.fedsnews.co.nz/free-lunchtime-chats-to-boost-farmer-resilience/