A lot of you would know Farmer Dave from his appearances on Big Brother, and know that he is a genuine, kind farmer, that has grown up with a love for the land and his animals. Fewer of you would know that his love has spread to being Co-Founder and Manager behind the initiative of RuffTrack.
RuffTrack is a youth program based at the RuffTRACK Farm on the skirts of the Hawesbury and the Hills Districts, in NSW. It is a charity that helps to support young people who have disengaged with school and the community to give them the skills, knowledge and self worth that they need to be able to reconnect with their communities and dream big about their futures again. The Hawkesbury Police and the BackTrack Youth Works are also closely involved in this amazing iniative.
From the RuffTrack Website – ‘Each young person bonds with a dog in their first days. That partnership takes them on a journey of learning responsibility, caring for others and communicating without violence. The team then travels the country demonstrating their skills and giving them purpose and a reason to give life a serious go.
Skills attained in the program include dog training, dog sports, horticulture, landscaping, welding, aluminium fabrication, animal husbandry, leather work, wood work, driving and licence attainment, carpentry, mechanics, bushcraft, domestic skills, nutrition and physical education, effective communication, conflict resolution, building healthy relationships….. and a whole lot more!’
I had the honour of meeting Farmer Dave in person, and he is genuinely passionate about RuffTrack, and what that means for these kids. Dave and the RuffTrack crew put a lot of their time and energy into making sure that the young people get what they need from the program, and they go through all the successes and challenges that they face along the way, because they genuinely care about the kids. It is truly a remarkable initiative that I feel very lucky to have been able to experience where a lot of the amazing work happens.
Unfortunately the RuffTrack Farm is going to have to be relocated to a new forever farm, and that is why a fundraiser has been established to assist in making this possible. If you would like to donate to the RuffTrack Forever Farm, please click on this link to contribute to making that happen:
https://rufftrack-limited.grassrootz.com/rufftrack-forever-farm
I would like to thank Farmer Dave, Michael Cauchi, and all of the RuffTrack kids and crew for their time and smiles, Rosemary Richards for being able to line up dates for the amazing photos, and to Ffiona Erskine of Ffire Photography for the images used in this edition of Nag’s Natter.
– Skye Pickering Dip. Horse Business Management.