by Here and There (
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Welcome. Here you can find the most unique, fun, traditional, tasty, wacky, historical, contemporary, discovered and undiscovered places, events, experiences and things to do.
There's no doubt our farmers are doing it really tough at the moment across a wide swathe of the country. Llittle water, less grass and even the bees are short of flowers. So what can we all do to help? If you are low on
raindancing skills, then here's a few alternative ideas to consider.
Some grass would be good...
ATTEND
A smorgasbord of drought relief events are being held ranging from concerts to auctions. Check out what's happening in your local area and go along.
BUY AUSTRALIAN
Do this all the time if you can! At the supermarket, farmers' markets, roadside stalls, online, wherever you shop, when you buy Australian you are supporting the very important people who grow our food.
DONATE $/NEEDED ITEMS
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Drought Angels
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Australian Red Cross
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Rural Aid/Buy a Bale
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Aussie Helpers
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Lions Need for Feed
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Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal
•
Salvation Army
•
GIVIT - donate money or needed items
You can even buy
drought relief stamps and
music.
When the only green grass around is at the local school
VISIT
For your next holiday, please consider the drought-affected areas of country Australia. There awesome places all over to visit and some pretty wonderful events to experience. If you can even turn up for a day trip or weekend and spend money in the local rural economies, it makes a big difference to those regions doing it hard. Why not stay on a farm or station and help the farmers with some much needed income - check out
youcamp,
Farmstay Australia,
Camp for a Farmer for some options. Accommodation ranges from houses and cabins through to camping and caravanning sites.
VOLUNTEER
From fundraising to actually going out and performing volunteer work on farms, there are a number of ways to volunteer either personally or as a business. Here are some of the organisations who look for volunteer assistance, you can also keep an eye out for opportunities in your local area.
•
Need for Feed
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Frontier Services Outback Links
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Aussie Helpers volunteer
•
Farm Army
The hay trucks keep rolling
RESOURCES
For farmers who need a hand - the organisations listed above offer help in various forms, there is
federal government assistance available and
state and territory governments also have programs.
ASIC and the
ATO have assistance options for farmers and businesses who are drought affected. The National Farmers Federation has produced a
list of drought assistance options and
this article provides an in-depth explanation of many of the options. Local councils in affected areas often have drought relief programs and grants available for events, equipment and infrastructure that benefits the local community.
Finally, if you have any ideas you'd like to add, we'd love to hear about them in the comments section below.