Tracee & I were thrilled to be invited to contribute to Landcare Australia’s ‘Women in Landcare‘ stories. This is what we were asked and what I submitted on our behalf.

Question: What does ‘March forward’ mean to Tracee & Amanda as women working in Landcare.

March: a regular, measured tread.

Forward: To make progress

Progressing towards our goals with regular, measured steps. 

The week of writing this marks the end of our first year job-sharing one full-time Landcare Coordinator role.  It also marks 18 months of working together. With that realisation my shoulders relax, I breathe out and break into a smile. It’s been a challenge and we did great!

Marching isn’t the first word that comes to mind when trying to describe our cadence but it will more than do now I’ve given it some thought. 

When observing the day-to-day, I’ll often ebb when Tracee flows, meandering in a day-dream down each and every rabbit hole I can find or sluggishly slumping over the computer as I battle a level of mental constipation that should be illegal in order to get a newsletter sent.  Then there are the days where I’m the one running, bouncing around ideas, breezing through my to-do list with a briskness that has me wondering what came over me. All this while Tracee sits slumped back in her chair, scrolling through the universe in search of the spark that might re-ignite her passion. 

Over this past year Tracee & I have learned how to march forward together by observing nature and noting that everything has its pattern, it’s time to shine, to set seed and to retreat. That there is no discordance in the ebbing and flowing of a healthy box gum woodland, thriving paddock or eclectic garden, only cycles that re-invigorate and support each other as nature progresses towards its goal. 

While it’s fair to say that sometimes we learned these lessons the hard way,  one persons flow catalysing the others ebb and subsequent despair,  but over time the conditioning that shaped those judgemental, self-defeating perspectives has been shed, like a skin that no longer fits, leaving us revitalised and comfortable as we march forward together. 

Follow this link to read more Women’s Day stories.