We’re pleased to share that a new community initiative connected to the Jordan Liberty Project is now underway in Broken Hill.
With support from Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal’s In a Good Place program, auspiced through West Darling Arts Inc., work has begun on Making a Peaceful Place for Mental Health in the Riddiford Arboretum.
The project focuses on gently activating the Arboretum as a peaceful, non-clinical place for reflection, connection, and wellbeing. It has been designed to sit alongside existing mental health services and community efforts, and to be shaped over time through community input.
Early supporters of the project include Broken Hill City Council, the Royal Flying Doctor Service Wellbeing Place, and Lifeline Regional SA and Far West NSW.
First steps in the Arboretum
As an initial step, a temporary community labyrinth has been installed in the Riddiford Arboretum to mark the beginning of the project and encourage people to engage with the space in a reflective way.
The labyrinth was created with the help of local yoga instructor Susanne Rae Jones (Yoga Out the Back), who is also Chair of the Broken Hill Art Exchange.
People are welcome to walk the labyrinth, pause for a moment, or simply notice it as part of the landscape. There’s no set way to engage with it.
Looking ahead
With appropriate community consultation, the project may develop further over time. One idea currently being explored is a co-designed permanent labyrinth, potentially created through community workshops using colourful handmade tiles to honour people we’ve lost and share messages of peace, inclusion, and positivity for the future.
Any longer-term outcomes will be guided by community interest and shaped collaboratively.
Making a Peaceful Place for Mental Health has grown out of the Jordan Liberty Project and reflects a broader commitment to connection, prevention, and wellbeing in Broken Hill and the Far West.
Further updates will be shared as the project develops.
For more information, visit:
https://jordanliberty.org/peaceful-place
