SELECTED as one of two finalists in the 2026–27 Building Healthy Communities Challenge, Eugowra is preparing to grow, move, and connect.
Alongside Oberon, the town was chosen for the Western New South Wales Local Health District’s third challenge edition, which equips small communities with practical resources, support, and funding to launch locally driven health initiatives.
Eugowra’s program, titled Growing Together, Moving Together, centers on three main pillars: encouraging healthy eating, providing accessible physical activities, and fostering intergenerational connections.
Central to this initiative is a new community garden where local residents can grow and harvest fresh produce while developing valuable food preparation skills and confidence.
According to Hayley Vaughan, health promotion coordinator at WNSWLHD, the garden will offer Eugowra an enduring asset for the community.
“The garden is designed to build knowledge, skills and confidence among community members, while creating a lasting community asset that can be owned and maintained by locals well beyond the challenge,”she said.
To encourage people of all ages to increase their activity levels, the initiative will feature accessible weekly community walks.
These walks will be open to all residents and receive backing from both the local Multipurpose Health Service and Eugowra Public School.
A central element of the program is intergenerational learning, which will offer activities where people from different age groups can connect, exchange practical life skills and knowledge, and deepen local relationships.
Ms Vaughan highlighted that both finalist communities placed a strong emphasis on ensuring their initiatives remain sustainable long after the challenge concludes.
“We’re thrilled to announce Oberon and Eugowra as finalists,” she said.
“Our entire team is super excited to see how their programs can develop across the challenge, because both towns have been thinking about long-term sustainability from the get-go.”
The Building Healthy Communities Challenge extends through April 2027.
At the conclusion of this period, an independent panel of judges will evaluate each initiative and select an overall champion, which will be awarded further funding and support to sustain its project.
Beyond assisting towns with the initial rollout of health initiatives, the competition focuses on building the local knowledge and capabilities required to ensure long-term sustainability.
This ongoing impact is evident in past finalists, including Manildra, Grenfell, Gilgandra, and Peak Hill, which have successfully continued their programs or adapted versions of them following their participation in the first two challenge cycles.
Over the coming months, Eugowra will have the chance to transform the vision of Growing Together, Moving Together into an enduring feature of local community life.