Watershed Women Empowering Rural Women!

Published 17th February 2023. Written by Maddison O’Brien

Watershed Women is a community group motivated by supporting women from the region. For NSW Women’s Week this year, we’re celebrating the diverse women in Landcare and our local community. If you’re a woman living in the region, we’d like to invite you to join in on an exciting event happening on the 11^th of March; Watershed Women, Empowering Rural Women. Come and see what Landcare and Watershed Women are all about!

The day aims to empower women by providing training and skills in otherwise male-dominated areas. Come along to create connections and partnerships within the community and learn valuable skills to improve your repertoire. Get a little out of your comfort zone in a safe environment of like-minded women, and you might be surprised by what you’re capable of! The day will be a real treat with three fabulous guest speakers.

Katie Doherty Rural Lifestyle Coach will be workshopping some tips and tricks for local women to learn fencing skills. Image supplied

Session one will be run by Christine Corner, a local farmer, fermenter, and permaculture educator. Her talk is called ‘Culturing beneficial microbes for garden and gut.’ Christine will connect the dots between gut health, soil and food and will pass on some of her expert knowledge in the art of fermenting.

Session two will be led by a local female NSW Rural Fire Service Volunteer focusing on fire safety and the operation of Portable Pumps. Gain some invaluable knowledge on fighting fires in the case of an emergency, and learn some critical notes to keep yourself and your family safe if a fire is threatening.

You’ll meet Katie Doherty, a Rural Lifestyle Coach for session three. This hands-on workshop is on farm fencing. Learn the tricks of the trade as a female! Working smart, not hard, Katie will introduce some useful tools and simple hacks to make fencing easier.

Between the sessions, we will leave our work boots at the door and don some lippy to enjoy a delicious sit-down lunch with a guest Speaker from the Rural Adversity Mental Health Program. There will be some surprise goodies and lucky draw prizes too! Thank you to Local Sponsors for the day, including Girl With A Pearl, Mr. Fothergill’s Seeds, Royston Petrie Seeds, Blooms The Chemist Mudgee, The Space Pilates Studio, and Kookaburra Estate Farm Kitchen.

Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind event. Come along, meet some local women and take home some priceless skills that will enable you to step up and do it confidently.

Tickets are $20 per person or $10 for Watershed Landcare Supporters. Registration before the event is essential. Go to watershedlandcare.com.au/events to register.