Wellbeing program receives top award

Naracoorte Lucindale Council program named best in South Australia

The Naracoorte Lucindale Wellbeing Program has won the Regional Excellence in Public Health Award for South Australia. The program received the prestigious award at the end of last month at the Local Government Association of South Australia’s 2022 Conference and Annual General Meeting in Adelaide.

Naracoorte Lucindale Mayor Erika Vickery OAM, CEO Trevor Smart, and Cr Monique Crossling accepted the award from the Minister for Health and Wellbeing, Chris Picton and South Australia’s Chief Public Health Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier (all pictured right).

The Naracoorte Lucindale Wellbeing Program received the “in recognition of outstanding contribution to public health in local communities”.

Established in March last year through a partnership between Naracoorte Lucindale Council and Wellbeing SA to support community resilience and wellbeing in response to COVID-19, the program delivers a suite of community initiatives targeting priority population groups to support physical, mental and community wellbeing.

To guide implementation of the program, four focus areas were developed, and three primary audiences identified, including culturally and linguistically diverse communities; children, young people and families; and older residents.

The four focus areas are increasing opportunities to be active, improving wellbeing through food, strengthening community engagement and social connectedness, and supporting positive mental health and wellbeing.

Since its establishment, 34 initiatives have been delivered in partnership with 54 delivery partners, reaching 1580 participants.

Key initiatives delivered to date have included the establishment of walking and running groups, the implementation of several 8-week physically active and ageing well programs, resources promoting open spaces and encouraging unstructured physical activity, a community mural, community movie nights, yoga classes, and theatre performances promoting mental health.

The Naracoorte Lucindale Wellbeing Program also recently won a 2022 Walking SA Award for its Naracoorte Trails pocket maps. The pocket maps – which highlight six local walking, running and cycling trails in the Naracoorte Lucindale area and fit nicely in a pants or jacket pocket – won the Walking for Health Award.

The Naracoorte Lucindale Wellbeing Program is a joint project between the Naracoorte Lucindale Council and Wellbeing SA. More information on the program and initiatives can be found at https://bit.ly/nlcwellbeing