Young Farming Champion Meg Rice (right) with Lauren Heritage-Brand on the red carpet at the Heywire Gala
Young Farming Champion Meg Rice recently had the opportunity to represent Art4Agriculture at the ABC Heywire Gala dinner at the Australian National Museum in Canberra. Here she met some very inspiring young rural Australians.
Each year the ABC conducts a storytelling competition, known as Heywire, for people aged 16-22 living in regional or rural Australia, and each year the organisation also selects a small group of young people, known as Trailblazers, to further share their stories and ideas with the nation as a whole. Meg mingled with both Heywire participants and alumni and 2019 Trailblazers at the gala dinner.
“There were many movers and shakers in the room who expressed their support and enthusiasm for the youth in rural and regional communities,”
Meg says. “Thank you for believing in us was the message conveyed by Heywire and TrailBlazer winners, and the enthusiasm was absolutely infectious. It was hard not to leave the event very inspired and motivated.”
Two of the Trailblazer winners, in particular, impressed Meg.
“Emma Moss is a very confident young woman brimming with excitement and enthusiasm who spoke with great conviction about bridging the urban/rural divide, particularly in the beef industry,” Meg says. Emma spent two years working on Kimberley and Pilbara cattle stations and established a strong Instagram following with her evocative photographs. Now studying sustainable agriculture at the University of Queensland at Gatton, Emma is keen to go into schools to talk about her agricultural experiences.
Read more about Emma here.
Joe Collins was the second Trailblazer winner to leave a strong impression on Meg.
“Joe is passionate about the sharing the importance of reducing environmental impact and promoting sustainability through community art,” Meg says, “and also using technology to improve the sustainability of agriculture.”
Joe, who is currently studying at university in Melbourne, hails from the tiny Victorian town of Woomelang (population 200). Inspired by the Grain Silo Art Trail he has painted eight large-scale murals of the environment and endangered species within his local community in an effort to encourage tourism and reinvigorate the economy of his town.
Read more about Joe here.
Meg herself is also kicking some impressive goals. She has accepted a position as a clerk with a Canberra law firm, which will see her specialise in rural succession planning when she graduates as a lawyer this year.
The Heywire team and Art4Agriculture share common values with Art4Agriculture supporting both agricultural (The Archibull Prize) and environmental (Kreative Koalas) causes. Congratulations to Meg, Emma and Joe for championing these values.
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