Community & Business
26 October, 2022
Hike to Heal promoting mental health wellbeing
The group behind the annual scavenger hunt at Mount Peel, Hike to Heal Australia, recently joined with other services at the Toowoomba State High Mental Health and Wellbeing Expo, part of Queensland Mental Health Awareness Week.
Participating organisations hosted activities that provided a focal point for awareness, education, and understanding of mental health and wellbeing, and helped foster community connection and inclusion.
Caryn Powell and Katrina Flint, from the Hike to Heal team, conducted a mini–Scavenger Hunt with some clues a little trickier than others.
Caryn said the students, when discussing their ways to deal with stress, rarely associated it with the benefit of fresh air, sunshine, enjoying nature and exercise.
“However, they did say talking to friends, reading a book, playing games on their phone or listening to music helped,” Ms Powell said.
Many of the students who had not been to Mount Peel Nature Reserve, were unaware of its location and were surprised there were not only hiking trails but also bike and horse tracks - a possible new destination for an outdoor outing for them and their families.
The Hike to Heal Scavenger Hike Positivity Pebbles (pebbles with wonderful messages, quotes and beautiful artwork scrawled across them) and Affirmation Cards were popular amongst students and a lovely way to brighten up their day and highlight the importance of talking about
mental health.
The aim of these tokens is to hopefully start to shed the stigma associated with mental health and provide students with a springboard for open conversation and connection.
The distribution of the Toowoomba Regional Council’s Support Finder Card will ensure students are able to connect with appropriate local support services.
The Hike to Heal Scavenger Hike is on again during the last week in February between Saturday 18th – Sunday 26th, 2023.
