Healthy Tasmania Update - Spring 2020

Painting of five trees with orange sky and grey clouds.

Healthy Tasmania is the Government’s plan for making Tasmania the healthiest state by 2025. Focusing on priority areas - reducing smoking, healthy eating and physical activity, improving mental health and wellbeing, community connections and chronic conditions screening and management – Healthy Tasmania involves a wide range of projects and initiatives to help Tasmanians make positive and healthy changes to their lives.

Healthy Tasmania Fund Round 2 – Applications Closed

Healthy Tasmania Fund Round 2

The Healthy Tasmania Fund Round 2 closed on Friday, 30 October 2020. Over 100 applications have been submitted for small and large grants, and the review process is now underway. Two million dollars is available for community organisations and local governments to invest in the health and wellbeing of their communities.

Successful projects will build community connections while helping Tasmanians:

reduce smoking
improve healthy eating
be more physically active
improve mental health and wellbeing.

Visit our web page for more information. Good luck to all those who applied for the Healthy Tasmania Fund Round 2 grants.

Healthy Tasmania Community Innovations Grants

The Healthy Tasmania Portal continues to share the grant stories from the Healthy Tasmania Community Innovations Grants.

Sorell Council received a Healthy Tasmania Innovation Grant to build a flat 700m sub-loop in Miena Park as part of its Tracks and Trails project to increase connectivity within the community.

The greater Sorell community is loving the 11 km Orielton Lagoon Loop pathway that connects Sorell and Midway Point showing that if you build them, they will come.

Toby Hyatt, 12, and Lace Hyatt, 9, ride the sub-loop of the Orielton Lagoon Loop pathway several times a week.

The pathway was finished in March this year, just as COVID-19 restrictions were implemented and playgrounds closed, so it provided a much-needed opportunity for people to get out and active during lockdown.

Feedback from residents has been positive about the shared pathway providing a place for physical activity that connects people with each other and their environment.

There are also plans to establish a 5 km Parkrun around the pathway.

Healthy Tasmania Listen and Learn Series

The six-part Listen and Learn Series is being run from September to December. The free 90-minute online sessions explore different topics to support organisations helping Tasmanians live healthier lives. Each session includes interviews, question and answer sessions with local guest presenters and group discussions. They focus on practical ideas to promote health and wellbeing.

Communities are at the heart of making Tasmania the healthiest population in Australia by 2025. But how do we get everyone involved? Join us for Engaging with Community - working with communities in planning, designing and doing on Wednesday, 11 November 2020. Hear from Leez Robertson, Get Active Program Manager and Denise Delphin Northern Suburbs Community Centre Manager, two experienced community connectors as they share insights, challenges and practical tips on how best to reach the wide range of people that make up our Tasmanian communities.

Visit Healthy Tasmania to register and find out more about the upcoming sessions. You can catch up on sessions missed here.

Check out the next ‘Listen and Learn Session Engaging with community - working with communities in planning, designing and doing.

Neighbour Day Challenge 2020 Update

Relationships Australia Tasmania and Healthy Tasmania are excited to share an update on the fantastic activities some of the Neighbour Day 2020 grant recipients have undertaken to create social connections in their communities.

Painting of five trees with orange sky and grey clouds. Healthy Tasmania worked with Relationships Australia Tasmania to fund a range of community initiatives to encourage social connection. Entrants received between $500 and $5 000 grants to address loneliness and connect their communities in creative ways.

Painting by Skye (Free2Be Girls member) of the sunset

During COVID-19 lockdown Free2Be Girls groups got creative with the activity packs delivered by volunteers. They partnered with the local council and radio to run a weekly competition for young people in Break O’Day to keep them connected and engaged with some very crafty results.

Devonport Ageing Stronger Active Longer got people active during lockdown by creating workout videos for older people. Participants were grateful to have a sense of normal during this time, with new participants joining the program and exercise regularly after viewing the videos. The workouts are available online.

Geeveston Community Centre connected with isolated community members during the height of COVID-19 by sending cards created by local artists. They have continued to reach out to older community members this way as part of the meal delivery service they initiated in response to community need during lockdown.

Halloween decorations in garden. The Health Action Team Central Highlands started the first Spoonville village in Tasmania and encouraged local families to add to the village as a way to connect and get crafty during lockdown.

They also initiated a snail mail buddy project, with children from Westerway and Ouse schools getting involved in writing to more isolated members of their communities. Since lockdown they have connected people through COVID safe interactive workshops such as Kokedama making.

Spoonville village Ouse ready for Halloween

At the end of September, Circular Head Council hosted the first of their series of community lunches to increase social connection. They had over 40 people attend, with many engaging in an active game of cricket.

Two ladies standing in a garden, holding a tray of plants Lower Barrington Hall committee brought the community together for a planting day at the community hall.

New residents joined in the fun planting over 50 plants to beautify the hall surrounds, the first in a series of activities planned to increase the useability of the hall as a place for community gatherings.

Read more Neighbour Day stories at Healthy Tasmania Neighbour Day Challenge 2020.

Barrington Hall Seedlings Tray

Healthy Tasmania Facebook update

The Healthy Tasmania Facebook page continues to provide information and strategies to assist people with reducing smoking, healthy eating, physical activity, community connections and mental health. Over the last few months, the Facebook page has been showcasing events such as the Healthy Tasmania Fund Round 2 Community Information Sessions, including a behind the scenes look at our online live stream of the Community Information Session on Friday, 14 August 2020 in Hobart. A series of posts were also featured in October focusing on the Healthy Tasmania Fund Round 2 Grants sharing hints and tips for a strong application. These included partnering up, increasing access and thinking outcomes.

The Healthy Tasmania Listen and Learn Series is also being promoted through the Healthy Tasmania Facebook page. The posts feature artwork from graphic artist Fiona Millar to promote these free online sessions. Visit Healthy Tasmania to register and find out more about the upcoming sessions.

Healthy Tasmania hints and tips posts for the Healthy Tasmania Fund Round 2 Grants.

Healthy Tasmania Facebook Challenge – Major Prizes drawn

Every month the Healthy Tasmania Facebook page has exciting challenge competitions for participants to share their healthy habits to win a range of prizes.

The August Challenge focused on embracing change, where we asked our Facebook followers what new habits they had learnt through the year and will keep long-term. The Challenge saw entries that included more time for daily walks, growing vegetable gardens, painting and mindfulness activities.

The September Challenge saw a $250.00 fruit and vegetable box subscription as a prize. The Challenge asked entrants to share their pictures, recipes or ideas of meals that included more colour to encourage eating a variety of seasonal foods. We received photos of colourful vegetables added to breakfasts and of children helping prepare their rainbow dinner.

Major prize winners from periods March to May and June to August were also drawn. The first and second major prize winners chose the food processor and slow cooker packs valued up to $500. Congratulations to the winners who will continue to #vegitup with these great kitchen items. Keep an eye out for more Healthy Tasmania Facebook Challenges for the remainder of 2020. Follow Healthy Tasmania on Facebook and share our posts among your network to encourage more people to enter. There are still two Healthy Tasmania Facebook Major Prizes still to be drawn for 2020.

The September Challenge fruit and vegetable box subscription prize.

SYC Healthy Mind Habits Wrap Up

Over 12 weeks, Healthy Tasmania has shared The Statewide Youth Collaborative Group (SYC) Top Tips to Healthy Mind Habits. The SYC Healthy Mind Habits series is a set of resources with tips and ideas on how young people can positively support their mental health and wellbeing. The SYC Healthy Mind Habits series was designed by and for young people, with the support of Healthy Tasmania funding.

The Healthy Tasmania Facebook page shared posts every Friday from July to October. These included information and strategies to support positive mental health and wellbeing. Topics covered eating well, school stress and positive self-talk.

Over the 12 weeks, we reached close to 5 000 people through the Healthy Tasmania Facebook page. The top three performing posts covered topics about reaching out to friends, physical activity and sleep.

If you missed any of the content, make sure to check out and share the posters and videos online. There are also online blogs for parents/carers and adults to learn about Healthy Mind Habits and how they can help support young people with their mental health and wellbeing. To find out more about SYC Healthy Mind Habits, follow YNOT on Facebook or visit their website www.ynot.org.au

Top performing SYC post Healthy Mind Habits Posters

Smoking Cessation Resources

Does your service need some new resources to support conversations around smoking cessation?

Public Health Services has recently developed a suite of resources, including brochures, postcards, posters and videos. While these resources have been designed to support people with mental illness, they can be used more broadly.

Check out the “Let’s Start a Conversation” resources online

If you would like some hard copies, please contact Jasmine.Angus@health.tas.gov.au

What’s New on the Healthy Kids website

If you are looking for Tasmanian resources and programs for families check out the Healthy Kids website. The website is updated and added to regularly. Blogs are added monthly and the latest topics include breakfast ideas, appetite and children and meal planning for when returning to work after parental leave. If you are a service and want to promote the website to families you can order a set of free promotional post cards, email community.nutrition@health.tas.gov.au