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[SLOW-MO GR] All About the Drought! 11-17 Feb
Hi everyone!
The drought has affected thousands of Australians, it is a very important topic for us to discuss!
Here are a few handy resources!
Emma's Story of the Drought and Community Spirit
Coping With Stress From The Drought
We will be discussing how people were affected, what can we do to help, some ways we saved water, planning for future droughts and the link between environmental changes and mental health.
Join us soon starting Monday February 11 to have a chat about the drought that has impacted so many of us!
We will also get to see some photos taken by @Bee! I definitely want to see them!
Comments
Here is the last question everybody!
How do vast environmental changes such as droughts affect the mental health of Australians? Who are most affected? Why?
by not having their basic needs met i can imagine their mh would be sufferring greatly.
worrying about how to pay bills, what their next meal may be and how they may get it, water worries, how to feed their animals would be a huge thing.
I'm loving the discussion about this topic everyone! SO great!
I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to log in this week and participate, my week got crazy
Monday- How were people affected by the drought?
Lots of different people were affected in different ways, from not having enough rainfall to ensure their crop yielded decent results which in turn caused financial stress and worry. I also imagine farmers who had cattle or other animals would have struggled to keep their animals hydrated and out of the hot sun! Sometimes there isn't enough shady areas in the paddoks for all of the animals to keep cool which could result in heatstroke or death in some circumstances.
Tuesday- What can we do to help? E.g. how do we raise awareness and what kind of foundations can we donate to?
There are various ways we can help, @gina-RO linked in a few different charities we can donate to if we're able. But also shopping and buying local produce, I live rurally so I often get farmers at the local markets selling their grown fruit and Veg, and it's often cheaper than the big supermarkets! And we know it's local so why not 🙂
Wednesday- What were some ways you saved water? Do you still follow these now?
I only wash my car when it needs and I do this on the lawn. Most of the time I barely use anything other than water to wash it so the water helps water the lawn 😛 I also take short showers and only wash clothes when I have a full load, same with the dishes. I won't fill the sink full if I don't have to!
Thursday- Should we be planning for future droughts? How can we do this?
Absolutely YES! I think by saving water and being mindful of what we use and porbably storing water in damns etc.
Friday- How does vast environmental changes such as droughts affect the mental health of Australians? Who are most affected? Why?
Droughts can affect mental health of Australians in a negative way and result in depression and anxiety from the worry and stress drought brings. I think farmers and their families are most affected.
I have a couple of photos I wanted to share that I took on my phone especially for this GR. I took these back in October 2018 (I think, roughly)
In the first one you can see that the top of the channel has started to erode under the surface. But also look how dry the ground is!
This photo shows how dry it also is. Yes there are clouds that look like rain clouds but don't be fooled, we didn't get any rain from those sneaky clouds!
Hi everyone!
I'm here to post the first question of our very important Slow Mo GR!
The first question is:
How were people affected by the drought?
@scared01 @nyke @Bee @N1ghtW1ng @Libellule @JanaG Would love to know your thoughts! 🙂
there have been some really good answers here thats for sure!
How were people affected by the drought?
So so so many people were affected in different ways but some that come to mind is lack of water and food for both themselves and also their pets, along with great losses of livestock.
Our second question for this weeks GR
What can we do to help? E.g. how do we raise awareness or what kind of
foundations can we donate to?
@scared01 @nyke @missep @N1ghtW1ng @Libellule @JanaG @Libellule @Saltwaterdreamtime @Jay-RO
charities are good to donate to such as need a feed and also buyabale as well. i think there has been quite alot of info brought to light over the past few months with all the social media advertisements.
What can we do to help? E.g. how do we raise awareness or what kind of
foundations can we donate to?
This is such an important question! I think a small thing people can do is talk to one another about it. People tend to overlook how just talking to your family and friends about issues can help spread a message. I don't know of any drought specific foundations but if people know of anyone that do address this issue would be great! 🙂
Today’s question is:
What were some ways you saved water? Do you still follow these now? ☺️
some ways i save water is
- have quick showers
- limit car washing
- use the washing machine (or if you have a dishwasher) only when its full
- fill up drink bottles for water rather than getting a drink from the tap cause lets be honest how many tip the water they dont drink out- so waters saved by filling and drinking out of water bottles.
Hi everyone! Happy Valentines Day!
Here is today's question:
Should we be planning for future droughts? How can we do this?
My answer to this is, we should 100% be planning for future droughts. If we plan effectively then we can minimise the damage. I think the government should make sure we have many backup plans in place. Water reserves or ways to get water down in emergencies and funding! Funding is so important as well. The farmers were losing so much money and were struggling.
I don't know much about this topic but I'm really interested in what you guys think as well!
yes of course, perhaps by building another dam or 2 in areas that get alot of water would be good, water sanitation plants so ocean water if needed could be made into fresh water and then transported to areas in need.
water seems to be the main issue as its needed or various things including growing crops so by saving water, implemeting other water schemes i think it would be most helpful.
What were some ways you saved water? Do you still follow these now?
I used to have a timer for showering to try save water and i have to admit i'm nowhere near as strict with it now! I was reflecting recently on how quickly it seems everyone stopped actively trying to save water once the restrictions were lifted. My neighbour pretty much has the sprinklers going every day and it's still so strange to me! I don't think the front nature strip needs to be fluffy and bright green in February! Just me?
We used to have a bucket in the shower to catch the cold water while the shower's warming up but we always forgot to empty it in the garden Best of intentions and all that jazz lol
Such an important discussion this week.
Just in response to yesterday's question about how to support people experiencing drought -
Here are a list of places you could donate to , or support:
- Australian Red Cross
- Rural Aid/Buy a Bale
- Drought Angels
- Aussie Helpers
- Lions Need for Feed
- Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal
- Salvation Army
Hey @missep
Thanks for posting the question! Honestly this isn't something I know much about. Super keen to see what other people will post. I guess there were financial impacts on farmers who could not produce crops anymore. And I'm assuming lots of emotional stress about trying to provide for themselves and their families.
How are people affected by the drought?
There have been so many consequences of the drought! @missep @JanaG you both make great points in that financial burden and animal welfare are pretty bad during a drought.
@nyke its so sad to see a lot of Australia in distress! Floods in queensland, serious droughts in rural parts of Australia, and fires in Tasmania are so pressing right now. Australia has been subject to some of the worst droughts in history, with the 2018 one being the worst on record in 400 years, and remote areas of Australia right now experiencing record low rainfall!
If anyone is interested in reading an open access scientific article on the emotional effects of droughts in Aus, here is a super interesting one! It must be so stressful to have your livelihood being destroyed 😞
Eager to hear from people's lived experience on this matter!
How were people affected by the drought?
I can't imagine how difficult it must be for the people and animals living in areas affected by it and other extreme weather conditions. I also don't know too much about it so keen to read people's responses. I know it has caused a lot of financial and emotional hardship as others have mentioned - and huge burdens on those who's crops or animals haven't survived. I also know many animals have suffered through the extreme conditions 😞
How were people affected by the drought?
So many people were affected! Especially farmers and their animals. It was so heartbreaking to see that they didn't have the resources to feed their animals and they were really suffering. 😞