Narrabri’s Garden Club meeting at the Golf Club on October 13 began with an inspiring presentation from breast cancer survivor and campaigner Karen Kirkby.

Karen gave a moving account of the journey which took her through to a double mastectomy, and gave listeners an insight as to how tough and heart-wrenching the process of dealing with such a prognosis can be.

Now stronger than ever and with a drive to tell her story, Karen has been campaigning throughout the month of October, raising funds and fostering an increased awareness of breast cancer among the local community.

Significant to people of any age and either gender, Karen is ensuring this disease is a focal topic of conversation.

With towns and villages within the shire creating pink displays everywhere you go, ‘Pink Up Namoi’, led by Karen, is raising funds for the McGrath Foundation to assist with resourcing breast cancer nurses in rural areas.

Karen is overwhelmed with the community response to her cause.

“It is amazing and heart-warming to see so many ladies wearing pink in the month of breast cancer awareness”, she said.

“Early detection is so important – no matter what your age is – in saving lives from this disease.

“Breast cancer also affects men.

“McGrath specialist breast care nurses provide a vital service to those diagnosed and their families at no cost and are only funded through fundraising efforts like the Pink Up Your Town initiative.

“I thank each and every one of you who has taken this pink-up trend with me”.

As a cotton pathologist based at the Australian Cotton Research Institute, Karen has published articles which include topics such as weed research, seed science and technology and crop and pasture science.

Karen also has a love of horse training and clay target shooting which she does in her spare time.

Narrabri Garden Club members later voted to provide a donation to the Pink Up Namoi campaign.

In other news, the Garden Club, together with the Narrabri Show Society, plans to stage a one-day flower show in early November featuring cut blooms from local gardens, subject to COVID regulations at the time.

With two difficult years of COVID restrictions, cancelled meetings have not diminished the enthusiasm of Garden Club members with over twenty attending monthly meetings, and planning is well underway for 2022.

Next year the Narrabri Club will be hosting the annual Zone Picnic Day, the New South Wales Floral Art Workshops, and the club’s 50th birthday celebrations.

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