2018
MID YEAR TRIP
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This year, we were fortunate enough to revisit the communities of Dalby, Injune and Chinchilla during an amazing 7 day trip from June 28 - July 3. We had the opportunities to re-connect with some familiar faces and places and also expand our connections to encompass more members and associations within these communities.
As always, each town provided us with unique experiences and unique learning opportunities. Service learning trips such as this offer the incredible chance to learn from others - those in the communities and our fellow Big Lifters. We thoroughly appreciated the insights we gained into aspects of regional and rural life and what makes living out West so special for so many.
Click and check out more about what we did and saw in Dalby, Injune and Chinchilla.
"It was a timely event that let me get away from studies and my home to embark on an adventure that will leave me in various emotions at every turn."
- Francis Nguyễn, Trip Participant
Dalby - Day 1
We set off bright and early and full of excitement on Day 1 and made our way to our first community - Dalby. On the way we were able to have the chance to get to know one another, and stop at the beautiful Toowoomba Picnic Point for lunch.
After lunch, we arrived at Dalby, and some of us headed out to our first project - helping make paper lanterns for this years Delicious and Delightful Festival! We thoroughly enjoyed helping make a number of sea creature-shaped lanterns for the event.
Dalby - Day 2
On our second day in Dalby, we had opportunities to engage in a number of volunteer projects.
This included gardening and cleaning at the Pioneer Park Museum, the Blue Care centre and the Crisis Support Association Centre. During the day we were all lucky enough to view the varying exhibits at the Pioneer Park Museum which showcase history in Dalby and a variety of artefacts which give interesting insights into the past.
We also continued with preparations for Dalby's Delicious and DeLIGHTful Festival. We were tasked with building a low-budget children's playground, as well as an art installation. So, we painted some cardboard boxes and filled them up, giving them a cubby house feel. We later found out that these lasted until the Festival, where a large number of children were able to enjoy them!
After a long day of projects, we were fortunate enough to hear about a different side of regional life by visiting a property and speaking with the owners about the gas wells on their property and their experiences working with the Coal Seam Gas Industry.
Later in the evening, we were fortunate to engage in discussions and reflect on our work, our presence within the community and the conversations that we had held during the day. This service learning approach is a large part of what Big Lift is all about and it is so wonderful to be able to be part of a group that values both our individual and collective development over the course of the trip.
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Fun Facts about our Next Stop!
Injune is a small town with a population of 460 people (according to the 2016 census). The main industry is Cattle and in 2017 they had their first annual Beef in the Buffel Ball to celebrate the industry. Injune is also one of the gateways to the beautiful Canarvon Gorge National Park.
There is one Prep to 10 school in Injune, with 80 students enrolled.
Injune - Day 3
Day 3 involved our biggest drive of the trip, with a total of four hours driving time spanning 360km to reach Injune.
However, we didn't let our fatigue from a long day of travel get in the way! Instead, we jumped right into the community and were welcomed with an awesome sausage sizzle and movie night.
Injune - Day 4
After having an awesome night getting to know some of the Injune families, we geared up for a massive day of work. This included cleaning and tidying the old railway station; cleaning, gardening and conversing at Injune retirement village; cleaning the youth group building; working at the community gardens; cleaning and gardening at Churges Together. Our biggest job for the day was at the school. We did some gardening, painting, cleared out and tidied up the sports shed, cleaned some of the classrooms and helped out in the library by laminating and sorting books.
Chinchilla - Day 5
Today we set off from Injune and stopped on the outskirts of Roma for a tour of Meadowbank Museum. Meadowbank is also a farm and the museum features old machinery, memorabilia and horse-drawn vehicles. After the tour, we continued onto Chinchilla where we arrived in time for dinner and some service learning chats before heading to bed to prepare for a long day 6.
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Chinchilla - Day 6
This was our final day of projects and we certainly kept ourselves busy. We gardened at Southern Cross Care, the Country Women's Association and the Chinchilla Historical Museum. We spent time at Vinnies and the Men's shed helping out with any tasks they needed. We supported a local resident, Glynis, with some gardening and jobs around the house and also helped a local farmer tidying out their shed. Today, we also got the chance to hang out with some country kids at NCC Early Learners, the Chinchilla Early Learning Centre and by helping run a camera program at Chinchilla Library. One of the other organisations that we assisted with was Drought Angels, which Francis will tell you more about below!
After the projects, we left for Cameby Hall to have dinner with some members of the community and listen to speakers on a variety of topics concerning Country Life. It was great to hear about regional and rural life and some of the issues being faced from locals' perspectives.
We wrapped up our last night together, by spending some quality time around the fire, reflecting on the last week spent together.
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"One of my most memorable experiences during the Trip was on the way back to Brisbane at Chinchilla where I worked alongside Ella and Kira at the Drought Angels centre – a non-for-profit organisation that focuses on helping farmers in need. We helped with them stock take at the warehouse by organising incoming crates into their allocated shelves and reorganise the upstairs main building. It was a concerted effort and took several hours to complete but one of the most eye-opening experiences was having conversations with the Volunteers as they were regulars that understood the current devastating situation regarding the severe drought that has damaged their properties and in turn effected their mental health.
The more I investigated Drought Angels, the non-for-profit organisation, there were indeed a veritable wonderland for farmers and for the rural communities in need. Despite the ongoing drought crisis that has affected thousands of widespread farmers, one of the most silent and unexpected causes of death was loneliness, and in response, the organisation has made a strong effort of connecting farmers with catch-ups so that in times of adversity, they are able to work cohesively and collaboratively to continue to conduct their activities."
- Francis Nguyen