It might seem strange, but the connection between ukuleles, Lismore floods and storytelling is taking local SCU academic Jeanti St Clair to the Byron Writers Festival this weekend.

Jeanti will join a panel of speakers discussing how creativity plays an important role in communities recovering from natural disasters. 

“The journey back from the emotional and mental trauma of climate disasters is huge,” Jeanti said. “If we can take part in a gentle creative process, it can help process traumas.

“Part of the work is to create events that provide gentle opportunities for people to engage creatively in processing grief and trauma.

“Particularly with single experience events, often you can benefit from sharing your stories – it can be a creative and therapeutic expression.”

Flood Stories Project

Jeanti’s Flood Stories project began in 2017 after the Lismore flood and culminated in audio walks through the streets of Lismore.

The project continued this year after the February and March floods, when Jeanti again gathered flood stories from people in the Lismore community who had been affected by flooding.

“I have now updated the Flood Stories website to make space for other projects - and I’ve teamed up with local photographer Raymond De Weerdt to capture pictures of civilian rescuers.

“We are talking about holding an exhibition next year and publishing a book called 'Rescue', capturing the experiences of the flood rescuers, their terrifying moments on water and the experience problem solving in doing it.

“After some of the rescuers told me their stories, they said ’I didn’t know if I could tell it again, but I feel better for it'.

“The creative methodology helped them process their experience – they felt seen and acknowledged.”

The Creative Recovery panel

The Creative Recovery panel will be at the Byron Writers Festival at 11.30am, this Sunday, August 28.

Jeanti said on the panel will be other locals talking about a similar process of engaging communities in mental health recovery - talking about bushfire recovery and other projects in Wollongbar and Ballina.

“I’m involved with a larger collective alliance of creatives, teachers and mental health professionals - and we all came together as the creative first aid alliance,” Jeanti said.

Ukelele Club

As well as her flood stories project, Jeanti is using the power of musical expression to help the Lismore community recover from the floods.

“I’ve started the ukulele club and we will have monthly uke events where people can gather, strum and sing along ,” she said.

“It activates positive hormones and switches on the vagus nerve and makes you feel happier.

“Byron Music donated ukeleles and I’m giving them away to flood affected people who come to the club.”

If anyone wants to join the uke club, look for Lismore Uke Club on Facebook for updates.

Byron Writers Festival

The 2022 Byron Writers Festival will take place this Friday 26 August to Sunday 28 August.

More than 140 writers and thinkers will converge on Byron Bay to explore the theme ‘Radical Hope’ and celebrate the power of words with festival audiences.

The event takes place on the grounds adjacent to Elements of Byron Resort (144 Bayshore Drive, Byron Bay) and includes five stages, hosting sessions on a range of topics such as the environment, social issues, the arts, science, crime, poetry, politics, memoir and fiction.

This year’s line-up includes best-selling authors Trent Dalton (Love Stories), Hannah Kent (Devotion) and Rob Drewe (Nimblefoot), artist Ben Quilty (Free Fall) and actor Bryan Brown (Sweet Jimmy), authors and commentators Indira Naidoo (The Space Between The Stars), Sarah Wilson (This One Wild and Precious Life) and Julia Baird (Phosphorescence), prize winning poet Evelyn Araluen (Dropbear) Gardening Australia’s Costa Georgiadis (Costa's World) and British philosopher A.C. Grayling (For The Good of the World) amongst many more.

3-Day and 1-Day Passes are available as well as tickets to a selection of Feature Events and workshops. Tickets can be purchased online via byronwritersfestival.com/tickets or from the onsite Festival box office from Friday 26 August.