Future VISION
A change of lifestyle in the city has renewed one teenager’s love of the land.
SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD Abbey Bailey made the decision to leave her hometown of Cootamundra, NSW, for boarding school three years ago. “I was ready to leave,” she says. “It’s a small town and I see boarding as a way of broadening my horizons.” Now in Year 11 at Methodist Ladies’ College, living in a house full of teenage girls in Melbourne’s inner suburbs is certainly a contrast to the livestock and cropping farm Abbey grew up on – but it has made her appreciate the land just that little bit more. So much so that, after finishing her education, Abbey has plans to give back to the agriculture industry that has been her family’s backbone for generations. “I only started to think about doing something in the farming industry after I moved to Melbourne,” she says. “But I’ve always been interested in ag. It’s hard not to be when you grow up where I did. We go back generations in farming – I just love it.” While she’d one day love to be a part of educating the next generation in agriculture, it’s the rather contemporary topic of mental health that Abbey is particularly passionate about: “Unfortunately there’s currently not much awareness for mental health in rural communities and it can have a lot of stigma. I’d love to see more support for people in the agriculture industry.” Abbey cites the high stress and long working hours of the farming industry as one component, combined with the culture of tight-knit community: “In rural towns there’s a real mentality of ‘everyone knows everything about everyone’. I would love to help destigmatise the ability to reach out for support.” Abbey also recognises the benefit that has come with experiencing boarding school and tasting city life: “It has been a good learning experience – and I believe that I’m a different person now than I would be if I’d spent my teenage years in the country. It has given me so many more opportunities.” One of those opportunities was spending a term at MLC Marshmead, a remote, off-the-grid campus in Victoria’s East Gippsland, where there is a central focus on environmental sustainability. “I learnt a lot in regards to sustainability and how global warming and climate change can affect the farming industry,” explains Abbey. “I’m hoping to incorporate this knowledge into my future plans. “I’d like to study philosophy and agriculture, and one day teach school students about the agriculture industry and its links to mental health,” says Abbey. “It’s so important for our country’s future.”
“I believe that I’m a different person now than I would be if I’d spend my teenage years in the country.”