That's according to a group of young people who are living on the frontlines of the nationwide environmental crisis.

Hailing from Wagga's Charles Sturt University, four students have joined this week's UNICEF drought summit in Lake Macquarie, which has been attended by people aged between 14 and 24 from all over the state.

"Some of the participants have spoken about seeing their parents stressed out, and how that has affected them," said Maddie Rusconi, a second-year bachelor of social work student at the Wagga campus.

"It's made it hard to focus on their school work, and for some it's meant that they feel the need to stay on the farm to help out."

Joining the group in her capacity as a support leader, Ms Rusconi said the discussions during the three-day conference have revolved around promoting social collegiality.

"It's about sharing the knowledge, learning about the coping strategies that other areas have implemented and hopefully being able to bring those back home," the 21-year-old said.

Droughts may come and go and may prove entirely unavoidable, but the way communities bolster their resilience should be the main degree of enterprise, Ms Rusconi said.

"We've talked about perhaps setting up community chests, or organisations and support groups that can be there for people when they need them," she said.

"It'd have to be an organisation, at least, people who would be there to start it and lead the way to something official.

"Or if it's not official, there would be small groups within smaller towns who are able to provide for each other's needs.

"No matter how big the town is, anywhere could benefit from that."

The experience of drought in Wagga, and especially at the university, is not as profound as when Ms Rusconi returns to her hometown.

"I come from Tumut, which is a much smaller town," she said.

"You can see the difference. The effect [of drought] is much more obvious, every time I go back I see and hear about more small businesses that have had to close down.

"Everything just seems quieter there this year and it's just so [apparent] that everyone feels the effects of it. Businesses struggle, farmers have less money, and it's just a circle effect."

With participants coming from around the state, Ms Rusconi said the forum has so far generated eye-opening engagement, giving insight into the way other towns have weathered the adverse conditions.

"Some of the towns are much smaller than others, so it really does vary," she said.

"A few from western NSW have said they feel like there isn't much support there for them, but then other towns roughly the same size have said they have support systems in place.

"It's hard to know where Wagga sits in that. The Riverina seems to be a little better of then far off NSW, there's more access to support it seems."