From left: David Breusch, Graeme Miller, Ian Gaske (back) John Jones, John Atchison, Anthony Simmons (Pathfinders) David Steller, Andrew Pratt, Gordon White and Terry Inman. Photo: Kerry Myers
A group of local Armidale Rotarian’s attended a meet and greet at Tilbuster Station last month led by Chairman John Jones.
The group arrived at Tilbuster Station and sat down to lunch under the pine trees in the garden and asked for a brief on the work currently taking place at Tilbuster Station. The Rotarian’s were keen to hear about all of the activities taking place and to learn more about the benefits Pathfinders Pumpkin Run provides to young people in Out of Home Care and the community.
The group was interested to hear about the 2022 Pathfinder Pumpkin Run that took place along the Mid-North Coast and the work that went into making the run a success. With planning underway at Tilbuster Station for Pathfinders 2023 Pumpkin Run, it was a great opportunity to take a walk around the fields to see the work that has already been done in preparation for our upcoming pumpkin seed planting days.
A summary of the work that has been taking place at the Marie Delaney Training Centre was also provided to the group on the day. There was plenty of interest in the work taking place and the group had lots of questions regarding engagement and challenges we face with our young people and how we overcome these changes to get young people to engage in the programs we offer. Everyone present acknowledged the hard work required to attain effective engagement and hearing some of the successes we have experienced brought smiles to their faces.
At the request of our visitors, we took a short tour of the new classrooms and cultural gardens. The Rotarian’s expressed a strong interest in the new yarning circle as one of the members was a former engineer with the Armidale City Council and has old plans for a Yarning Circle that was drawn up for Tilbuster Station over five years ago.
They loved the idea of a yarning circle and wholeheartedly agreed with its strong ability to create a space conducive to building respectful relationships, sharing information, and of course enriching young people’s learning experiences.
For many of our young people who may not feel heard or understood our new yarning circle will create an opportunity, to yarn with others. It will be a space where all points of view are treated respectfully and are equally valid.
At the end of the visit, the group kindly offered to follow up with our team to see how they can assist our young people with their 2023 Pumpkin Run. They have also offered to make a donation to Pathfinders. As the yarning circle’s concrete slab is 50% complete the Rotarian’s voted to make a donation to Tilbuster Station to cover the remaining cost of the concrete slab.
The group expressed their delight in their visit and are looking forward to another visit in the future.
