Learning for wellbeing to be celebrated

6 August, 2014

Learning for wellbeing to be celebrated

Have a burning desire to teach raceway pitstop etiquette or ancient weaving techniques? Fancy sharing how to tie a fishing fly or speak a foreign language? Want to identify native plants for keen amateur botanists, teach how to cook with exotic spices and wind down with a new relaxation method?

A group organising an event from 6 – 12 October to support wellbeing and encourage people to keep learning is looking for activities to add to their calendar.

Learning for Wellbeing is the theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week. People up and down the Coast have already indicated they are keen to be involved, but there’s room for more, organisers Birte Becker-Steel of New Coasters and Sarah Harvey from Community and Public Health say.

“We want to encourage as many community members, service organisations and businesses to be involved West Coast-wide as possible,” Birte says.

Activities can include anything that improves people’s wellbeing – relaxation techniques, how to make healthy food, art & craft, speedway pitstop demonstrations, how to tie a fishing fly, movies & music, outings into nature, just getting together & connecting, and much more.

“We are planning to organise “shop-window-tasters” for Greymouth, things like drop-in-workshops and information stalls on the main street – anything that supports positive wellbeing,” Sarah says.

Those offering classes can register by emailing 2014wellbeing@westcoastdhb.health.nz. An event form can be downloaded from the Keep on Learning for Wellbeing page on the West Coast DHB website (it’s listed in the home page content list, or search).

Learning, remaining curious and setting goals is important for all ages, and can lead to improvements in self-esteem and social connections. It is strongly associated with higher levels of wellbeing. Learning can be as simple as picking up a new skill, trying a new activity, or discovering a new place.

You can’t always be happy but you can always be profoundly aware & curious
Todd Kashdan

Events are currently being planned for Westport on Monday 6 October, Greymouth from Tuesday 7 until Thursday 9 October, Hokitika on Friday 10 & Saturday 11 October and plans for Franz Josef are underway.

ENDS

© Scoop Media