Peter speaks to Nuffield scholar Chris Manley about the Walk with Me campaign which encourages us all to go for a walk to help our mental health.
Linked to episode 3 of the show, this bonus episode features bonus material with Chris Manley, who appeared in episode 3 of the series.
In the episode Chris talks about the 'Walk with Me' campaign to help break the stigma of talking about mental health in the farming community.
Farming Focus is the podcast for farmers in the South West of England, but is relevant for farmers outside of the region or indeed anyone in the wider industry or who has an interest in food and farming.
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Timestamps
00:01 Cornish Mutual jingle
00:15 Peter Green introduces the bonus episode.
00:52 Peter asks Chris to introduce the #walkwithme campaign.
03:20 Chris writes a poem and it grew from there.
04:10 Charles Anyan comes in.
05:42 Many testimonies from people about walk with me and the power it has to have conversations. What are the outcomes of the movement?
08:17 Cornish Mutual get involved in the campaign.
09:4 What does success look like?
11:08 Mental health the quiet killer.
12:02 Britain's Fittest Farmer competition.
15:00 Gladiators??!
15:50 Peter rounds up the episode.
Cornish Mutual. Farming insurance experts.
Hello and welcome to this bonus episode of Farming Focus. It's linked to episode three of the show in which I spoke to Lincolnshire arable farmer and as we discovered athlete Charles Anyan and also Nuffield scholar Chris Manley. We spoke about mental and physical fitness in agriculture. If you haven't already done so, you must go back and listen to episode three so that you get the most from this bonus episode.
It was a fantastic conversation and we're going to hear more now from Chris and Charles about the hashtag walk with me campaign and Britain's fittest farmer. Chris, I want to ask you about your walk with me campaign, which has been a huge success. Tell us more about the campaign. Why did it start? How can people get involved?
Thank you, Peter. Very, very kind of you as to say, I've absolutely got a pinch of myself because like many of these things, it started from a little seed and quite a difficult place for me personally. So, ironically, it was probably when I was at my absolute worst, but trying to do all these things in the, in the toolkit, um, 2 of which were walking, um, because I found that.
Like movement was really useful. So that ultimately getting out of the house and getting that physical movement would help move those clouds, but also journaling. So, you know, we talked about the importance of having someone to talk to verbally, but equally for some people that like to write, that's also another form of getting those thoughts, those ruminating thoughts out of your head.
So I was consistently journaling. And then, um, believe it or not, I've got a little bit of a creative side. Um, I don't say that I'm going to go into any kind of stand up comedy, comedy or live performance. But what I did have an attempt at doing was writing a little poem called Walk With Me. So the idea would be very simply put, you know, every time I wrote Walk With Me, I would write something that someone would feel if they were feeling in a low place.
Depression anxiety. So, you know, we talk about we talked about loneliness. We talk about how, um, it might affect our work or our relationships and all the things that those that are listening that might feel when they're in a difficult place. And I've always been someone that likes, enjoys interaction with people and enjoys organizing events and kind of making things happen.
And I was. Watching a video, um, some of you will be familiar with Jordan Peterson. He's a psychologist and he was sort of saying that, um, if you're in a difficult spot, you need to find a purpose. And if you can't find a purpose, find a passion. And if you can't find a passion, which was unbelievable for me, I wasn't, I couldn't find the passion, take some responsibility.
And if you're going to take some responsibility, one of the best things you can do is help others. And I've always enjoyed helping others. And so if we build that up from there, I thought, you know what, actually part of my route to feeling better actually could be helping others. Helping others and did a little video of me walking sort of reciting this this poem and I thought we'd start the walk with me campaign and it's all all about breaking that stigma around mental health and creating that safe space that catalyst for people to either take that first step to improving how they feel.
Or taking that first step to having a conversation and we, uh, and I, and I just posted a video. Anybody that's familiar with sending a difficult email or text message, you sort of close your eyes and press send. Well, that's what I did on all my social media platforms. And I was thinking, goodness, you know, this is, this feels a bit risky, but I feel like I'm doing it from a good place.
And the response has been fantastic, overwhelming, in fact, incredibly positive. Absolutely phenomenal. If I can just say for Chris to think about others when he was, you know, in such a dark place is, you know, remarkable that, um, I'm sure I recorded, uh, a walk with me video with Chris. But I think I ended up on the cutting room floor, so, um, wow.
Nate? Hey Charles. No, Charles, I, I actually thought about this. So this wasn't deli, this wasn't deliberate time, just time just went by. So if you'd like, if you'd like me to reignite a version with your younger self, you know, the 12 months younger, you know, looking just, just as fit, we can, we can go again, totally, totally up for it, for sure.
Let's see it. Let's see it. But just, just to go on what, what Chris was saying, I remember 2019, we had a very, very difficult back end. You know, it was raining, it rained even more than this back end just gone. And things were really quite tough. There were, you know, cash flow, crops in the ground, neither were looking great.
And I was, uh, in the Peak District, which I'm very lucky isn't too far away from here. And just down the hillside, looking over Chatsworth. And I remember thinking, All that, all the worry, all the stress just disappeared for that half an hour just looking over Chatsworth, thinking, Yeah, so that's why the Peak District and getting out of my walking boots has always been, you know, my, my happy place and it's really important.
Yes, if you can't run, walk. Yeah. And so many powerful things can happen on those walks. I've heard testimonies from people who've got involved with the hashtag walk with me and they talk about the power it's had to help them have difficult conversations. And I'm thinking particularly of the thorny topic of succession and developing farm businesses.
Well, Chris, what are some of the most striking outcomes that you're aware the movement has achieved? Well, I always say that I'm only ever going to hear a few of the stories because the magic of this campaign is actually it's going to ignite a lot of private conversations. So I'm really, really happy with that.
It sounds like it's not, it sounds like an odd thing to say, but I think that's probably the most powerful part of it. But actually things that sort of people have I've witnessed, I mean, I think there's been sort of 2 phases initially, when I sort of launched it out there and then sort of the momentum we had this this last autumn, I would say, 1st of all, thank you to everyone that has got involved in whatever form.
So, you know, initially we ask people to, uh, if they feel confident enough to do so to go on a walk, either with themselves or their friend and post a video about why they're walking, or maybe make some comments to, um, to their own mental health. Or why it helps them with the hashtag, uh, walk with me, but even the people that have maybe just shared it or even just had a private conversation.
I think that's had some real benefit. But what I have, what I have noticed is, uh, particularly at the time, um, You know, having gone to Harper Adams, they picked it up quite, quite quickly. So, you know, they're aware that the pressures on students are quite significant now. And, you know, would have, I think it was a catalyst for them to do that little bit more alongside some of the work that they had started.
We, I mean, we had an incredible outreach of people, you know, posting videos. We had the the Rivers, River Trust, I think that was up on the Peak District that they were opening up, uh, you know, a new footpath and they decided to do a launch event that was a walk with me alongside the river and we all know how nice it is to walk alongside running water as well as in sort of woods and, and, and open, open landscapes.
Uh, we've had, well, I mean, first of all, you know, thank you to the Cornish Mutual as well, like, um, you know, right from the start, particularly sort of. Trudy has sort of been been phenomenal in sort of, uh, supporting, encouraging and I mean, you may even know yourself, Peter, but I remember back on World Mental Health Day, I think what looked like the office team or something went out for a walk.
And it was a way of people acknowledging, uh, that, you know, that day, but it's, it's just, it's just been incredible. Very subtle. I think the Nuffield farming network as well has been phenomenal. The worshipful company of farmers. But I think the key with it is that it is. It's agnostic. And actually one thing that I need to mention, particularly with Charles present is, um, the farming community network amongst other, um, charities have, have really taken it on.
And the whole idea is that it's, it's agnostic from a charity perspective. So people can use it in how, how they would do in terms of existing campaigns. So it's, it's really far reaching and it started in the UK, obviously it's gone abroad, but what does success look like for the campaign? It's gone already gone far beyond what I thought it would be, um, the, the big thing back in the autumn on World Mental Health Day was, we partnered with the Do More Agricultural Foundation in Canada.
So I had a call back in, in August, saying that from Meg Reynolds, their CEO that said, Chris, we really like this idea. And we want to get behind it and, um, they've also come from a place where, you know, they don't want to take it over. They just want to help amplify it. And what we had at the time, uh, was we had a sort of a sponsor BASF that sort of helped, um, with some of like match funding, but ultimately through the Nuffield network and other communities.
We have people posting videos all over the world, anywhere from Zimbabwe to Denmark to the US. To South America, and so in a practical sense, they, they've said to me that that's only the beginning. So they've done like a holding page on their website. That's got walk with me, but we, we aim, particularly as we get further into the year to sort of give it more of a standalone presence, but I think.
What I would say, even though I'm incredibly ambitious about it, I think what makes this magical is how humble it is. And the fact that actually, I think I would rather go for a sustained impact over time. We're talking about this in 5 years, and you'll be in conversations with your friends on WhatsApp, or just in person and just subconsciously will like.
People know that actually one of the things you can do in a difficult spot is to go for a walk and it will be a change. I think that will be real success. It won't be necessarily the list of accolades or events that it's been involved in. It will just be that it's part of one of the number of amazing things that we've got going on in the farming community to actually help us to be the best we can be.
It's part of that toolkit. That's, that's the aspiration. Fantastic. the biggest danger with mental health though, because it's very, very difficult to measure success. because it's such quiet killer to a certain degree. It's pernicious. Yeah. And, um, you know, the walk with me campaign, you know, it's a brilliant campaign and if it can, you know, just get one person to have a think, pick up the phone rather than the alternative, then it's a massive success.
Cornish Mutual. Farming insurance experts. Charles coming back to you from, from that rather serious point to a slightly less serious one, perhaps. Um, I'll, I'll be very honest when we first met, I didn't think I was in the company of a future judge of Britain's fittest farmer. Tell us more about last year's competition and how many farmers got involved.
Well, I didn't think I was in the presence of a podcast host either, but, uh, none taken, um, obviously You know, my running journey has made me, uh, one of the highlights of the last few years has been being asked to be an ambassador for the farming community network. They are a wonderful charity who, you know, make a lot of difference in many, many areas, but especially the mental health and we are spoiled.
in UK agriculture, that they are one of many fantastic charities. They are the charity partner of the Farmers Weekly Britain's Fittest Farmer campaign, and they contacted me towards the start of 2023 asking whether I would be I suppose they're representative on the judging panel. Yeah, I, I was only too delighted to accept basically my role was, I was the mental health judge and obviously Britain's Fittest Farmer is not just physical fitness, it's also mental fitness.
So, uh, my, obviously they've got, uh, three heats last year was at the Royal Highland. Devon County show as well and didn't have to travel far for the uh, Lincolnshire show the world's premier agricultural show as I like to call it And uh, yeah, so I was there at the lincolnshire show just as I suppose for a PR angle in my FCN t shirt, I interviewed all the finalists with Chelsea from the Farmers Weekly, who was the main organizer.
We went through everybody on Teams, 15 minutes interviews, and basically measured their mental awareness and they got a score for that, and that went to the, went to the final. And, um, yeah, we went myself and Julie, went to the, um, the actual final in Essex. And, um, yeah, it was just a great thing to be involved with and really competitive, really competitive.
The Britain's Fittest Farmer competition is turning into a real, you know, crossfit. Not my discipline, yeah, but really work them hard. Fantastic. All the finalists and all the competitors should be really, really proud of themselves for just putting themselves forward. Yeah, yeah. Charles, are we going to see you on, I know there's been a resurgence of the television program, The Gladiators.
Join the dots, Charles. Join the dots. Yeah, that's what I'm thinking. Yeah, as, as the new, as the new John Anderson. Yeah. Me and Lycra don't really go too well together. Oh, no. That's a shame. Saturday night TV watching, if indeed it is on a Saturday. Yeah, it wouldn't be, it wouldn't be ideal, but, um. My children's favourite show, uh, you think it might put people off their, uh, Saturday evening takeaway?
Yeah, well, it, it would lead to extra alcohol intake on a Saturday evening anyway, but, uh, yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I, I, I stick with, uh, running shorts and a loose fitting t shirt. Yeah, not quite ready for Lycra answers, answers on a postcard, uh, to podcast at Cornish mutual. co. uk. If you have a gladiator name for Charles and we will make sure we share them with Charles Cornish mutual farming insurance experts.
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