Episode sponsor: Dimity Smith, Founder of GRO Rural

If you’ve moved to a small town or even moved back to your hometown, after a long time away… how do you make friends?

There are suggestions that Australia is in the middle of a loneliness epidemic; in fact one in three people experience it. Country towns are pretty good at welcoming people in, but making close, meaningful relationships takes time and it takes effort.

In this episode we get advice from two experts and women who have experienced being the new girl in town, first-hand. (So have the hosts, Kirsten Diprose and Jen McCutcheon!)

• Malinda Guest - psychologist at Boundless Psychology, who after a long time living elsewhere, returned to her hometown, Narrabri, NSW.
• Katja Williiams - farmer and creator of The Ultimate Farm Wife podcast and You Tube channel, who moved to Dubbo, NSW.

We talk about strategies to meet local people, how to find those who share common values and interests and how long it takes to form deep connections. And we’re all adults here… so if a seemingly likely friendship doesn’t work out, that’s ok too!

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Does how we talk about men influence the massive problem of violence against women?

There are conversations we need to have in broader society about family violence. But where are the men?

How do we get our men to actively participate in a stand to stop violence against women? This is a tricky conversation. Clearly, it would be great if men just stop being violent. But telling men to simply ‘stop it,’ isn’t working.

And this is certainly NOT about blaming women. This is more about how do we make family violence prevention a whole of community thing? So not just something for “women's groups” to tackle. We need a multifaceted approach. And we need the men to come along with us.

In part 2 of this series, we speak to Louise O’Neill, a rural counsellor and founder of Farm Life Fitness, based in Denmark, WA. Louise is challenging the unhelpful and unhealthy expectations that can heavily influence the mental health and lives of both rural men and women.

This is a Rural Podcasting Co. production. Would you like to create your own podcast? We can help! Find out how.

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With gender roles for men not being as defined as perhaps they once were, what does this mean for our rural men who grew up with certain ideas of 'what a man should look like?'

Does how we talk about our blokes matter too? Whether that's whinging about our husbands who seem to always miss kids bath time... or on a broader societal level about what men should or shouldn't be?

This is a tough issue for a women's-centred podcast to dive into. But if we're ever going to tackle two major killers in rural Australia; suicide and family violence, we need to have some tough conversations.

This is a 2 part deep dive into two complex problems. In this episode we speak to Leila McDougall, producer of the movie "Just a Farmer," about gender roles, the pressures of generational farming, and our own roles as wives, mothers and daughters. She's also a farmer and mother in Tatyoon, in the western districts of Victoria.

Suicide rates amongst farmers in Australia is 94% higher than non-farmers. On average one farmer dies by suicide every 10 days. And it's mostly men.

In Part 2 of this series, we dive into family violence and how we can better involve men in these difficult conversations to help prevent violence against women.

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**EPISODE SPONSOR: Moore Australia**

Being diagnosed with a chronic illness is a massive change. And most people who have experienced this, speak about a grieving process for your old life and even your old identity, especially if it was based on being physically active.

But our two guests insist a medical condition is not the end of your life. In fact, they say their illnesses have forced them to be innovative, creative and push for change - resulting in opportunities that never would have opened up for them otherwise.

This episode is not just for people who are dealing with health conditions - it’s for their friends, family and colleagues (so everyone really). We can all learn how to be more inclusive and supportive of people who can’t do the same things we can.

Hear from:

• Chrissy Symeonakis - who founded PR firm, Creative Little Soul in 2013, not long after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Chrissy grew up in Renmark, SA and has many rural clients. She has designed a workplace that not only helps her to balance her health needs, but also provides the same flexibility to her employees (many of whom also have an illness or are busy rural Mums).
• Kelly Barnes - a mental health and wellbeing advocate based in Dunkeld, VIC. Kelly was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2015. She was named the Victorian Rural Women’s Award Victorian Winner in 2020 for developing workshops using working dogs to help spark conversations about mental health. She says her own experience with chronic disease was the catalyst to realising the significant role dogs can play in a person’s wellbeing.

Thank you to our episode sponsor: Moore Australia

Would you like to sponsor an episode of Ducks on the Pond? Contact us here.

This is a Rural Podcasting Co. production. Would you like to create your own podcast? We can help! Find out how.

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**EPISODE SPONSOR: Rural Women’s Day**

There’s this persistent notion that starting up a retail store in the main street of town is just too hard. From the high rents, cost of living crisis, to the relatively low foot traffic in country towns, finding a physical space to sell things, the ‘ye olde way’ can seem impossible.

But in this episode, we meet three business owners who have found success by leaning into the community side of their business. Economically, this might not make a lot of sense at first. How do you put a price on community? Well, in the country, it’s worth something.

The Botanic House in Nagambie, VIC and Workshop 26 in Kimba, SA have transformed their local streetscapes, created a community space with good coffee and atmosphere, as well as a retail store to sell their wares.

This episode features:

· Krystie Holley – Founder and owner of The Botanic House in Nagambie, VIC

· Heather Baldock – Co-Founder of Workshop 26 and owner of High Street Vintage

· Danna Kassebaum – Owner of Zozo and Ace

So if you dream of opening up a store in your town, you will learn A LOT from this episode!

Thank you to our episode sponsor: Rural Women’s Day. Book to attend an event near you in October 2024.

Would you like to sponsor an episode of Ducks on the Pond? Contact us here.

This is a Rural Podcasting Co. production. Would you like to create your own podcast? We can help! Find out how.

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** Episode Sponsor: Cheeky Mac Productions - do the 1000 Rural Women Survey!

We’re full of good ideas here in the country. So how do you access the funds and the people to make it happen?

It’s important for community projects and local businesses to come from the bottom up. It’s the people on the ground who know what’s actually needed and how to best deliver it. But so many grants and programs are top-down.

In this episode we hear from two women who are making big ideas happen, using grassroots methods.

Hear from:

Angie Armstrong - Owner of Callubri Station, a commercial farm and agritourism business in Buddabadah, NSW.

Natalie Egleton– CEO of Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR), based in Maldon, VIC.

Angie Armstrong shares her journey of setting up an agritourism business in central West NSW, including the challenges of getting tourists to travel further than Dubbo. She explains how she tapped into tourism bodies to find support and her approach to remaining innovative in business.

Natalie Egleton explains how FRRR supports community-led initiatives and the types of projects the philanthropic organisation funds.

We hope this episode will help you to get your next big idea off the ground!

Thank you to Cheeky Mac Productions for sponsoring this episode. Make sure you help them out by doing the 1000 Rural Women Survey!

Would you like to sponsor an episode of Ducks on the Pond? Contact us here.

This is a Rural Podcasting Co. production. Would you like to create your own podcast? We can help!

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**Sponsored by the Victorian Women’s Trust - Check out Rural Women Online, free digital skills platform.

There’s this idea that if you want to make it in film, you need to move to the city. But is that really true?

In this episode, we meet Jospehine Croft. She’s a film producer and actor, based in Melbourne, but is part of a movement that’s making film more accessible to women. This includes job sharing on film sets, shorter hours and looking after the mental health of film crews.

Josephine, who runs Tenacious Stories, also talks about opportunities for rural women who want to work in film. In fact, part of her most recent production, “The Returned” has been filmed in Wannon, near Hamilton in western Victoria.

She also discusses the challenges facing the Australian film industry, and remembers what it was like being a young actor in the 1990s and early 2000s (this includes her role as an angsty teenager in Neighbours who burnt down Lou Carpenter’s bus!)

**Thank you to the Victorian Women’s Trust for sponsoring this episode. They are running free digital workshops in Yackandandah 11 - 14 September. Head to Rural Women Online to register!

Would you like to sponsor an episode of Ducks on the Pond? Let us know!

This is a Rural Podcasting Co. production.

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Is parenting on a farm different to parenting in the city? What are our farm kids missing out on... and do the benefits of farm life out way the drawbacks?

In this bonus episode we welcome the hosts of The Barnyard Language podcast, which is an American podcast, focused on 'real talk about running farms and raising families.' But don't be fooled into thinking they are cutesy farm ladies - these are a wickedly funny and slightly sarcastic pair.

Arlene Hunter is a dairy farmer from Ontario, Canada and Caite Palmer is a sheep/beef producer from Iowa in the U S.

While there are obvious differences between Australia, Canada and the US... when it comes to the rollercoaster of raising kids in remote areas, we have A LOT in common.

We talk about everything from postnatal depression and the baby years. Right up to succession planning and raising kids that are proficient in "city", as much as they are in "farm".

This is a Rural Podcasting Co production.

** Interested in sponsoring an episode? Drop us a line on the Ducks on the Pond website.

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