CBR Rocks is part of a global movement connecting strangers through painted rocks, reports DHWANI PATHAK.

More than 200 painted rocks have been left randomly across Canberra in recent weeks, with CBR Rocks members completing 194 separate drops across the city and surrounding areas.

The four-week project, Covering Canberra with Kindness, followed the group’s Loveliness of Ladybugs gathering in August.

Members set themselves the task of leaving at least one painted rock in every Canberra suburb, with many of the ladybug rocks from the August gathering put back out into the community.

But why? For some, it is a creative hobby. For others, it is the social side, with people meeting through the group and taking part in hunts, swaps and organised events. 

There is also a genuine pleasure in knowing that an object they have spent time making might brighten a stranger’s day.

Lynette McGregor, CBR Rocks’ travelling rocks co-ordinator says: “There are a lot of problems happening in the world, but perhaps one small rock can make things a little bit better.”

Some of the rocks have travelled a long way.

Lynette says: “Rocks connected to the group have been found as far away as Iceland, Norway and Finland, as well as at Pompeii and Hiroshima.”

Lynette also runs a “rock hospital” at her rock swaps, where damaged rocks are repaired and given another chance to travel. 

Members buy landscape-supply rocks from suppliers around Canberra, usually by the bagful. There is no prescribed size or shape, although the rocks need to be reasonably smooth, particularly for detailed designs.

There is a community-service element, rather than a fundraising focus. CBR Rocks runs its annual Rocks for Sick Kids activity, among other community projects. Members also organise painting sessions, rock hunts, swaps and other activities.

CBR Rocks administrator Chris Bell says: “The group is part of a much bigger international movement where people paint, hide and find rocks.”

The finder can keep a rock, move it somewhere else or share a photograph of it with the group through the Facebook page mentioned on the rocks.

The Canberra group has about 20 core members, with others joining particular events and activities.

There is a regular cycle of projects throughout the year, bringing together painters, junior painters, people who hide rocks and those who find and re-hide them.

For Chris, the appeal is in the unexpected reaction when someone finds a rock.

One rock she left near Lake Ginninderra was found by someone having a difficult day.

“They said, ‘I was having a really, really rotten day until I found this’,” Chris says.

Members use acrylic paint pens and marine varnish to seal them. They don’t use googly eyes, stickers or other things that could come loose and become environmental litter. 

The group is conscious of using materials that won’t create problems when the rocks are left outdoors. It is not just about painting and hiding rocks.

The group also runs community projects, travelling rocks and activities for children.

Sara Ross discovered CBR Rocks during the covid lockdowns after finding a painted rock while out walking.

She found several more before searching for the group on Facebook.

Sara now paints rocks after her children go to bed and says the hobby has become a creative outlet as well as a way to meet people. 

The group has rules around where rocks can be left, avoiding places such as national parks, cafes and shops.

With spring painting now finished, CBR Rocks is preparing for its next major activity, the Halloween Hunt, where members will paint Halloween-themed rocks.

For CBR Rocks, the appeal is not simply in creating something to look at.

It is in the journey of the rock, from the person who paints it to the stranger who finds it, and sometimes to someone thousands of kilometres away.

The group’s Facebook page helps spread the finds and the stories behind them. 

For those who join in, the instruction remains simple: paint something, leave it somewhere appropriate and give someone else a reason to smile.

Facebook page: CBR Rocks 

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