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West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Lanna Hill: Absent jelly cups the canary in the coal mine for volunteering in schools
The jelly cups are gone from the school canteen. So are the juice pop tops and flavoured milks. Not because of sugar bans or budget cuts but because there aren't enough parent volunteers to serve them. It's a small change. But it says something bigger. Across schools, volunteer numbers are dropping. In Queensland, participation in school tuck shops has fallen by more than 11 per cent, with lack of time and cost-of-living pressures cited as the main barriers. South Australian schools are reporting canteen closures for the same reason. And nationally, the number of people participating in formal volunteering has dropped by nearly two million between 2019 and 2022. It's worth saying: not all P&Cs are in crisis. There are still many strong, well-run associations across WA doing extraordinary work. My kids are lucky — their school has a brilliant P&C and a tightly connected community. But even in the healthiest school ecosystems, the pressure is growing. The pool of people who have the time, head space or capacity to take on volunteer roles is shrinking fast. We're living in an era of extreme time poverty. Working parents, single parents, carers, shift workers — almost everyone is stretched. The hours that once went to school rosters or fundraising events are now consumed by paid work, commuting, side hustles, medical appointments, and simply trying to balance family life and your sanity. And yet, the need for parent engagement has never been greater. Today's kids are navigating a very different world to the one we grew up in. Kids today are more anxious, less physically active, and spend more time online than any previous generation. They're also spending less time with their parents. One recent Australian study found that many children now spend more hours each week on screens than they do interacting with their families. That statistic should give all of us pause. We know that strong school communities make a real difference — not just to academic results, but to confidence, behaviour, social development, and wellbeing. We know that when parents are engaged — even in small ways — kids notice. It creates a sense of cohesion, safety, and belonging. So how do we respond when that model is breaking down? We could start by rethinking what volunteering looks like in 2025. A lot of the systems we're still using — the weekday canteen rosters, or the mid-morning meetings — don't reflect how modern families actually live. I'm not saying this from the high ground. Like a lot of parents, I find it hard to carve out the time. But I also know how proud my kids are when they see me helping out at netball or turning up to their assemblies. It matters. There's also a bigger opportunity here for our State and Federal governments: imagine a family engagement campaign that linked healthy food, digital wellbeing, parent–child connection, and community volunteering — not as separate initiatives, but as a shared strategy. Not framed as guilt, but as civic design. Because when we make it easier for families to show up, we're not just helping schools. We're helping children feel more connected, more supported, more seen. I'm not saying we go back to the way things were. But if we still believe in the village, we need to start building a version that works for now — not just for the families who can make it to Tuesday morning canteen roster, but for the ones who can't. Maybe it starts with something as small as a jelly cup. Lanna Hill is the founder and director of Leverage Media Group
The Irish Sun
3 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
I enjoy lux living & fab sleep in my cut-price home – in an UNDERGROUND CITY…when you see the weather you'll understand
A MUM has revealed what life is like living in a $277k underground home to escape Australia's brutal 55C heat. Sabrina Troisi, 38, is from Stuttgart, Germany - but now lives in Coober Pedy - a remote South Australian town with a twist. 9 Sabrina Troisi lives underground with her husband, son and daughter Credit: TURBO360 9 The family lives in a cave-like home called a 'dugout' Credit: TURBO360 9 The dugouts are carved into the hillside Credit: SWNS With temperatures soaring to a sweltering 55 degrees in the shade, residents have been forced to think outside the box. To escape the dangerous heat, Sabrina lives in a "dugout" with her husband, Nick, son, Thomas, 14, and daughter, Leah, 13. "Dugout" is the local term for homes carved out of the hillside. The family paid £132,000 for their unusual underground property - which has two living rooms, two bathrooms, a pool table, an indoor and an outdoor spa - all tucked beneath several metres of rock. read more in world news Sabrina, who works as an office manager at our house is just walking into a hill, basically." The living space at the house is about four metres underground, while Sabrina's workplace - further into the hillside - sits around six metres down. Coober Pedy, with a population of around 1,600, is known for its unique underground lifestyle. Around 60 per cent of the residents live in dugouts - made easier by the soft gypsum-rich sandstone which holds its shape without extra structural support. Most read in The US Sun Originally trained as a childcare educator in The pair fell in love and eventually settled in Coober Pedy in 2013, drawn by its "charming environment" and unusual dwellings. Rescuers dive from helicopters into floodwaters to save stranded as floods batter Australia Sabrina said: "We had friends in Coober Pedy and wanted to move away. "We used to travel through it a lot, up and down the highway and it's just got a charming environment most of the year. "Underground is just fascinating so we thought, Coober Pedy was 100 percent the place for us." At $277,000 AUD, their dugout was much cheaper than the average Adelaide property - which sits at $796,000. The mum-of-two said: "It's much cheaper to live underground than above ground. "It's cheaper because you don't need to heat or cool the rooms and you just need lights inside. "It's also much cheaper to rent or purchase dugouts because the roof is already there, you just tunnel into the hill to make a building." Some homes are machine-dug in two months. Others can take years: "I have seen people digging for 10 years," she said. 9 The kids are so used to living underground that they find it difficult to sleep elsewhere Credit: TURBO360 9 Sabrina and Nick met when she travelled around Australia and he was her tour guide Credit: TURBO360 Sabrina's favourite part of underground life is the peace and quiet. She said: "There's no outside noise. When you shut the door, everything disappears. It's completely dark, completely quiet, perfect for sleeping. I love sleeping underground. "I wake up in the morning without windows, so you don't actually look out the windows and see what the weather is like, like any other person. "But you assume it's normally nice weather in Coober Pedy, so there's not much rain here. We get maybe five to 10 rain events a year. "So you can probably leave your umbrella at home. Sabrina has gotten so used to the quiet, underground way of life that city breaks now exhaust her. She said: "When I go on holiday, I'm actually exhausted from the busy, busy streets of Adelaide or streets of a bigger town, because I'm so used to the quietness of Coober Pedy." But not everything is better below deck . 9 They chose the underground life to escape the sweltering temperatures of the area of South Australia Credit: TURBO360 9 The house is even kitted out with a pool table Credit: TURBO360 Sabrina revealed that the biggest downside is the dust - and housekeeping that comes with it. She said: "If you don't seal the walls regularly it gets quite dusty because you are inside a hill. "Otherwise you have got the crumbles from the ceiling dropping into your soup when you are at the dinner table. And that gets quite annoying. "You do want to varnish the walls and it does rub off so you need to do it regularly." Despite the darkness, the family still gets their fill of sunshine and fresh air. Sabrina said: "It's normally sunshine outside so if you want your vitamin D intake it's normally just 10 minutes a day, so it's not impossible. "We do go for walks and we have got a garden. However, when you have a garden, you have to pay for water, which is quite expensive in Coober Pedy, so a lot of people actually use the shower and the laundry water." Sabrina's children, who were toddlers when the family moved in, barely remember life above ground. She said: "When we go on holiday and stay in hotels, they notice every little noise, roosters, planes, anything. Underground, you don't hear a thing." Life in Coober Pedy is remote - the nearest town is over 400 miles away - but it's close-knit. Essentials like hairdressers, vets and banks are only accessible with long drives. 9 Around 60 percent of the homes in Coober Pedy are underground dugouts Credit: SWNS 9 Sabrina says the one downside is having to vanish the walls - or face dust inside Credit: TURBO360 Sabrina said: "It's very relaxed. Everything's five minutes away. No traffic lights, not many cars ." When her dog got sick and needed to visit a vet 650km away, a neighbour offered to do take it in their car after seeing Sabrina's call for help on Facebook. "That's what Coober Pedy is like. It's a very welcoming town. Everyone helps each other," she said. Despite the challenges, Sabrina wouldn't trade her lifestyle for the chaos of the city. She added: "If we ever moved, I'd want to live somewhere quiet. Not busy like Adelaide or London ." As for whether underground living could catch on elsewhere, she's not convinced. "You have to have the right material like we do to build structures. "I don't think it's the future unless they really find a way of doing it."
Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
I enjoy lux living & fab sleep in my cut-price home – in an UNDERGROUND CITY…when you see the weather you'll understand
There is one major drawback of living beneath metres of rock, the mum explained CAVE DWELLERS I enjoy lux living & fab sleep in my cut-price home – in an UNDERGROUND CITY…when you see the weather you'll understand A MUM has revealed what life is like living in a $277k underground home to escape Australia's brutal 55C heat. Sabrina Troisi, 38, is from Stuttgart, Germany - but now lives in Coober Pedy - a remote South Australian town with a twist. Advertisement 9 Sabrina Troisi lives underground with her husband, son and daughter Credit: TURBO360 9 The family lives in a cave-like home called a 'dugout' Credit: TURBO360 9 The dugouts are carved into the hillside Credit: SWNS With temperatures soaring to a sweltering 55 degrees in the shade, residents have been forced to think outside the box. To escape the dangerous heat, Sabrina lives in a "dugout" with her husband, Nick, son, Thomas, 14, and daughter, Leah, 13. "Dugout" is the local term for homes carved out of the hillside. The family paid £132,000 for their unusual underground property - which has two living rooms, two bathrooms, a pool table, an indoor and an outdoor spa - all tucked beneath several metres of rock. Advertisement Sabrina, who works as an office manager at a mine, said: "Walking into our house is just walking into a hill, basically." The living space at the house is about four metres underground, while Sabrina's workplace - further into the hillside - sits around six metres down. Coober Pedy, with a population of around 1,600, is known for its unique underground lifestyle. Around 60 per cent of the residents live in dugouts - made easier by the soft gypsum-rich sandstone which holds its shape without extra structural support. Advertisement Originally trained as a childcare educator in Germany, Sabrina came to Australia on a gap year where she met Nick, her tour guide. The pair fell in love and eventually settled in Coober Pedy in 2013, drawn by its "charming environment" and unusual dwellings. Rescuers dive from helicopters into floodwaters to save stranded as floods batter Australia Sabrina said: "We had friends in Coober Pedy and wanted to move away. "We used to travel through it a lot, up and down the highway and it's just got a charming environment most of the year. Advertisement "Underground is just fascinating so we thought, Coober Pedy was 100 percent the place for us." At $277,000 AUD, their dugout was much cheaper than the average Adelaide property - which sits at $796,000. The mum-of-two said: "It's much cheaper to live underground than above ground. "It's cheaper because you don't need to heat or cool the rooms and you just need lights inside. Advertisement "It's also much cheaper to rent or purchase dugouts because the roof is already there, you just tunnel into the hill to make a building." Some homes are machine-dug in two months. Others can take years: "I have seen people digging for 10 years," she said. 9 The kids are so used to living underground that they find it difficult to sleep elsewhere Credit: TURBO360 9 Sabrina and Nick met when she travelled around Australia and he was her tour guide Credit: TURBO360 Advertisement Sabrina's favourite part of underground life is the peace and quiet. She said: "There's no outside noise. When you shut the door, everything disappears. It's completely dark, completely quiet, perfect for sleeping. I love sleeping underground. "I wake up in the morning without windows, so you don't actually look out the windows and see what the weather is like, like any other person. "But you assume it's normally nice weather in Coober Pedy, so there's not much rain here. We get maybe five to 10 rain events a year. Advertisement "So you can probably leave your umbrella at home. Sabrina has gotten so used to the quiet, underground way of life that city breaks now exhaust her. She said: "When I go on holiday, I'm actually exhausted from the busy, busy streets of Adelaide or streets of a bigger town, because I'm so used to the quietness of Coober Pedy." But not everything is better below deck. Advertisement 9 They chose the underground life to escape the sweltering temperatures of the area of South Australia Credit: TURBO360 9 The house is even kitted out with a pool table Credit: TURBO360 Sabrina revealed that the biggest downside is the dust - and housekeeping that comes with it. She said: "If you don't seal the walls regularly it gets quite dusty because you are inside a hill. Advertisement "Otherwise you have got the crumbles from the ceiling dropping into your soup when you are at the dinner table. And that gets quite annoying. "You do want to varnish the walls and it does rub off so you need to do it regularly." Despite the darkness, the family still gets their fill of sunshine and fresh air. Sabrina said: "It's normally sunshine outside so if you want your vitamin D intake it's normally just 10 minutes a day, so it's not impossible. Advertisement "We do go for walks and we have got a garden. However, when you have a garden, you have to pay for water, which is quite expensive in Coober Pedy, so a lot of people actually use the shower and the laundry water." Sabrina's children, who were toddlers when the family moved in, barely remember life above ground. She said: "When we go on holiday and stay in hotels, they notice every little noise, roosters, planes, anything. Underground, you don't hear a thing." Life in Coober Pedy is remote - the nearest town is over 400 miles away - but it's close-knit. Advertisement Essentials like hairdressers, vets and banks are only accessible with long drives. 9 Around 60 percent of the homes in Coober Pedy are underground dugouts Credit: SWNS 9 Sabrina says the one downside is having to vanish the walls - or face dust inside Credit: TURBO360 Sabrina said: "It's very relaxed. Everything's five minutes away. No traffic lights, not many cars." Advertisement When her dog got sick and needed to visit a vet 650km away, a neighbour offered to do take it in their car after seeing Sabrina's call for help on Facebook. "That's what Coober Pedy is like. It's a very welcoming town. Everyone helps each other," she said. Despite the challenges, Sabrina wouldn't trade her lifestyle for the chaos of the city. She added: "If we ever moved, I'd want to live somewhere quiet. Not busy like Adelaide or London." Advertisement As for whether underground living could catch on elsewhere, she's not convinced. "You have to have the right material like we do to build structures. "I don't think it's the future unless they really find a way of doing it."
