The 2021 Garden Christmas Party BBQ was held in the garden on Friday 10 December. What follows is the contents of the email sent out by SBCG Membership Secretary Deb Powers (with just a bit of extra added for clarification purposes by yours truly). So, if you couldn’t make it this year, keep in mind the Australia Day Afrekete Festival will be happening later next month in the garden.
You definitely won’t want to miss all the dancing, food and libations and overall festive atmosphere of that one.
So, see you in the garden and here’s to a bigger and better 2022.
Now, About that Party
Yummy food, big smiles
WOWđ
What a wonderful SBCG Christmas party we had. In all, the total numbers would be in the neighbourhood of around 50 members and their families.
Picture Perfect Smiles
The weather was perfect with temps in the mid to upper 20s and no humidity to speak of. Even the mozzies behaved for the night.
Everywhere I looked, people were smiling, laughing and eating. And after so much rain, all amidst some incredibly healthy and vibrant-looking garden plots. Such an amazing setting to have and share with the community.
Thank you everyone for your share plates. The range of food was just so good and eclectic. Everything from snags and
An actual photo of Tony NOT working.
chicken to Annie’s ‘rice sausages’ and authentic Thai Green Payaya Salad. Between that and the many chips and dips, cheeses and numerous delicious desserts, everyone was spoiled for choice.
Thanks to Mary and Natalia for cooking the sausages, chicken and onions. In the end, it almost goes without saying, there was nothing left.
Thanks to Jim for the Christmas tablecloths and the decorations. They looked great and added to the festive cheer.
Di, holding forth
Thank you to everyone who joined the party. It was lots of fun.
To our members, prospective members, your families and friends – we wish you all a very joyous Christmas and a safe new year.
We have some great events coming up in 2022 and we look forward to seeing you at them.
We just wanted to give you an update and say thank you for coming to our kindy and fixing up our little garden.
It brings us so much joy to see how much our garden grows from week to week. It literally doubles in size each time we see it anew and fills us all with excitement and joy to find what developments have been happening since we last saw it.
The children created their own signs for the flowers and vegetables and they also made a combined effort beautiful big đthank you đ for all that you did for us.
Fun in the garden
Special thanks to Di, Archie and Judy who came to our centre on the day and to SBCG for the generosity of time, labour, supplies and kindnessđ
I’ll attach a couple of photos for you and we would welcome a visit from any of you at the end of the week group B if you wanted to drop in and see how our magical garden grows.
Of all the happy faces in the garden, theirs are always the happiest.
The Happy Faces of Team Lemonade
Wearing black t-shirts and infectious smiles youâll find them. Getting tucked into any task that needs attending. No job is too big or too trivial for this crew.
They are Team Lemonade, a disability service organisation serving the southern Gold Coast and The Tweed.
Ask them and theyâll tell you, theyâre just happy to be there. In the company of their fellow team members, lending a hand and contributing in any way possible.
In April of 2020, the group was started by Elaine Johnston, a mother who wanted more for her oldest son, 31-year-old Nathan, who has Downs Syndrome and autism.
Team Lemonade Director, Elaine Johnston
âA lot of people let my son get away with a lot when he was young. âThatâs alright, heâs got a disability.â Actually, itâs not alright. Iâve taught him right from wrong and youâre allowing him to do what he likes because you feel empathetic for himâŠWe (at Team Lemonade) empower, not enable, thatâs a huge thing we do,â says Johnston.
Starting with only her son and two other students just over 18 months ago, today Team Lemonade is comprised of 11 staff and 35 team members. Members that range in ages from 19-39.
They are based out of present-day Kirra Cultural Centre atop Kirra Hill where many of the team members went to school as young children. Johnston says doing so has helped to create a sense of familiarity and belonging which the team members find very appealing.
L to R Janelle, Ben, Kerry
And while many of the classroom programs revolve around literacy, numeracy, and general life skills, a large percentage of Team Lemonadeâs educational opportunities are undertaken outside, in and around the community. These events involve work experience outings, health and fitness instruction at local gyms and volunteer opportunities; one of which is visits to the Southern Beaches Community Garden.
Everything is done based on a lesson Johnston learned almost fifteen years ago from three Aboriginal elders while working as a special needs teacher. It revolved around the Indigenous belief that hierarchy should not be triangular but, rather, circular.
Andrew feeding the worms
This circular perspective renders the place of actual teaching irrelevant. And, in the end, teaching moments abound. More often than not, when least expected; which is how a wrong turn in her car helped the Team Lemonade director stumble onto the SBCG.
âThey learn what they need to learn. We benefit from their knowledge and everyone just learns from each other. All with no (traditional) hierarchy, it just doesnât work,â says Johnston.
And the director of Team Lemonade is not alone in this belief. Janelle Staggard, who worked with her current boss at the Coolangatta Special School almost 16 years ago and has known many of the Team Lemonade members for 20 years, agrees wholeheartedly.
âI think weâre setting them up to, actually, fail at school,â Staggard says of the current special needs school programs. âWhat weâre doing is trying to provide a mainstream curriculum to guys that donât fit into the box.â
And, according to Staggard, the SBCG grounds are a perfect out-of-the-box experience. Perfect from a holistic perspective in that it provides a real grounding opportunity to members that too often find themselves amidst a world of sensory overload.
Joel watering the compost bins
She adds the garden requires members to get outside, explore and be hands-on. All in the pursuit of learning what can and cannot be grown, built, or improved upon. And better still, all while finding their own path towards becoming contributing members of society.
On this day the members engaged in this ongoing process of discovery include Andrew (29), Tim (34), David (31), Mitch (33), Joel (27) and Nathan (31).
Pruning tools, garden hoses, and a pitchfork for compost turning are the tools of the trade for the dayâs excursion. One that also involves a quick lesson in worm composting. With minimal instruction from the three Team Lemonade staff members (done in a ratio of 3:1), the team members divide and conquer.
Except for Mitch, who is new to the program, the others are familiar with the routine and dive right in with the first-timer Mitch, quick to follow suit. Each member has their own section of garden to tend to and with water nozzles set to a light drenching mist, they tackle their assigned plots with gusto.
Nathan giving the plants a drink
A gusto including plenty of friendly banter and laughs. Along with the occasional mischievous blast of water directed at their nearest team member. All of which serves as a not-so-subtle reminder: these disabled garden volunteers thrive on the activity and, even more obvious, love each otherâs company.
During an equally jovial lunch break in the garden beneath some nearby trees, team member Joel confirms this stating simply, âI enjoy Team Lemonade because itâs a group of people that I get to be next to and talk to.â
Itâs an unmistakable common theme running through the entire group and their unbridled enthusiasm maintains the afternoonâs positivity and fun. No one is immune from the buzz. Least of all the team staff members.
Staggard says the Team Lemonade members have helped her learn to âlive life without boundaries.â Sheâs quick to comment that the emotions of the team members are genuine and sincere. They donât want or expect anything in return in their dealings with others. âTheyâre just in this present moment and we live so much in the past or in the future. We forget about the right now.â
Team Lemonade in the House
As an outsider, itâs both a unique and refreshing perspective to find yourself a part of. It also serves as a powerful reminder. One which suggests that the path Team Lemonade has pursued this past year and a half works as intended.
Johnson sums it up this way. âI learned a long time ago tropical fish donât belong in a gold fishbowl. So, putting tropical fish in a tropical fishbowl, you then see the capabilities of these young people.â
This belief firmly entrenched, the circle becomes complete.
People are helping people. And with everyone learning from each other.
Wednesday night, the 8th of September would be a business network event to remember for everyone lucky enough to have been able to attend Tugun’s growing Southern Beaches Community Garden.
Community Garden & Community Bankattend the Southern Beaches Community Gardenâs hosted occasion.
Under clear, late summer, evening skies, the SBCG and its members opened up the grounds of their community garden for something unique. An expertly planned and executed gathering of local business and council members and passionate, civic-minded gardeners.
Councillor Gail O’Neill in attendance
Bendigo Bankâs Executive Assistant Maris Dirkx summed it up very succinctly in her following morning thank you email to the garden.
âThe GC South Business Network event, proudly co-hosted by Southern Beaches Community Garden and Community Bank Tugun was a huge success last night with over 80 people enjoying the wonderful hospitality of the volunteers of SBCG.
Guests enjoyed a unique opportunity to mix and mingle under the stars with other local business and organisation representatives.
A BIG thank you to the volunteers of SBCG and their hard work to make the event such a success.â
Smiles all around
In addition to what was expressed in her following dayâs thank you email, Maris even went so far as to say the event raised the bar and the garden should be proud of itself as this was the first Business Networking Event staged at a venue that wasn’t licensed.
One of many volunteers for the big night
And in her short speech on the night, SBCG President Di Gunther was quick to give credit where credit was due. Namely, to the SBCGâs biggest sponsor Bendigo Bank and its Manager Allan Merlehan. As well as to Laura Gerber and Councillor Gail OâNeill for their ongoing support, so much of which has made the gardenâs recent expansion project such a huge success.
Then she thanked the 200 plus garden members. Those who, day in and day out, do all the little things that add up to the gardenâs ongoing success. Especially the members who cleaned, set up, unpacked, cooked, served, sang, picked up supplies, collected seedlings, prepared the market, served behind the bar, spoke, participated in the garden walks and took pictures.
Lauren from Youth Music Venture
Lastly, a special thanks went out to garden member Deb Power who not only led the nightâs team of volunteers but also assumed the eveningâs role of MC.
In short, it was a magical night.
The weather was beautiful, the garden looked spectacular, the Balter beer was cold, the food was delicious and the live music by Lauren from Youth Music Venture topped off the event.
Not surprisingly, the SBCG has been asked to host again next year. An invitation the SBCG was quick to accept.
The skyâs the limit in terms of the work which goes into keeping a community garden running. Even more so, when that community garden is in the midst of doubling in size.
But for Southern Beaches Community Garden volunteer Tony Curtis, heâd really prefer to have it no other way.
I eat work for breakfast
For nearly forty years, Curtis worked as a rigger and a dogman. Setting up and dismantling worksite cranes along with assisting in all facets of the construction process. The building of many of the high rises which today are so ubiquitous on the Gold Coast in which he was born and raised.
The work agreed with him. Enough so that, along with his three brothers, heâd end up owning his own rigging business, Curtis Steel & Rigging, for eight years.
Taking a quick break from building another wicking bed plot, Tony admits he loved the rigging work and the industry as a whole. The industry was good to him and he says he always enjoyed seeing the progress made at the end of each day.
Always making friends
But that was nearly five years ago. And despite his rigging days now being behind him, the sixty-something ex-rigger has found a new way to satisfy his industrious proclivities.
Today, when not flying his extensive fleet of large, remote control airplanes, Tony and his trademark weathered leather full brimmed hat, can be found in the SBCG at least three days a week. There heâs been a member assisting in various garden tasks for almost a year. But most recently, heâs been instrumental in leading the charge in constructing the recently expanded premiseâs new garden plots.
Thirty-six at last count. With more on the way. A roll call of success Tony is quick to attribute to the organisational skills of those heâs surrounded by.
âGetting things done is a matter of having all the right people around you and the right equipment to do it.â
Getting it done, one bolt at a time
Tony lists names such as Kerry Hurse, Mandy McKinnon, Steve James, Nic Day, Dianne Casey and Deb Robson. Friends and fellow volunteers who Tony says are instrumental in providing the elbow grease in getting the heavy lifting accomplished.
âThey all enjoy the work, and I think itâs the same as me, weâre getting something done. They enjoy that side of it.â
As for the planning and procurement of various necessary equipment, Tony doesnât hesitate to give credit to SBCG President Di Gunther, Vice President Arch Cruttenden along with Ron Hasketh who oversees the Expansion Committee.
âOrganisation is nine-tenths and if itâs organised properly, the jobâll go properly and Di and Archie always try to keep a step ahead and I enjoy that side of it.â
And President Di Gunther is happy to let Tonyâs master plan continue playing out as it has been the past four to five months.
âWe will not stop until Tony says so,â says Gunther. âThere has been no other member who has the skill, ability, leadership, respect or integrity that Tonyâs quiet presence exudes.â
Itâs lofty and well-deserved praise. Especially good for a guy whose definition of gardening until only a year ago simply implied mowing his lawn.
Tony helping with the mulching
âIâve always had my own property since I was 17 or 18 old so I always looked after the yard. Iâve never been big into gardens. Just as long as they looked neat, Iâve always been happy. But since Iâve come here, Iâve got an interest in learning all the different stuff.â
Some of that different stuff, he says, revolves around wicking bed construction. And then thereâs the fruits and veggies of his labour. A thriving list that includes radishes, lettuces, kale, tomatoes, and, even, a small lime tree.
As for gardening tips, the ex-rigger likes to keep it simple by keeping an eye on the plots of his more experienced gardening friends. âYou have to look around, see what stuff is growing the best and which is getting least affected by any bugs we do have and thatâs what you grow.â
But ultimately, itâs the garden in its ever-expanding entirety that Tony seems to derive the bulk of his satisfaction from. On this day, when not admiring the periodic small planes flying low over the garden on their final approach into the GC Airport, Tony is quick to point out the hive of activity around him.
New plots being filled. Old ones being watered. Families in the park and playground. Numerous inquisitive faces taking in the sights and
The centre of it all
various areas of the garden.
There is no mistaking the gardenâs expansion to the north side of the SBCG clubhouse has given the garden added exposure. And itâs irrelevant whether itâs the garden reaching out to embrace the nearby playground and public park, or vice versa.
Because, all that matters is, on this day–as has increasingly been the case–people are everywhere.
And Tony Curtis couldnât be happier. âIâm proud to be a part of it.â
A week following our big day, an even bigger day–in the form of a Red Wriggler Homecoming–was in store for the Southern Beaches Community Garden.
Tom Symmons from Worms Downunder
Itâd be then, on Thursday, March 5thâamidst grey skies and torrential rainâTom Symmons from Worms Downunder (based out of Chandler, QLD) would arrive with the SBCGâs newest, most anticipated members in tow.
Worms. But not just any worms.
Red wiggler composting worms. Lots and lots of them.
Five kilograms or, to be a bit more precise, something in the vicinity of 20,000 worms.
Delivered and spread out amidst their moist cocopeat and straw bedding inside the SBCGâs Double Grande Worm Habitat, the red wigglers would begin their settling in process.
It was an impressive sight, seeing those little magical creepy crawlies set loose in their new home. But, not nearly as impressive as the Red Wigglers themselves. At least, according to the incredibly thorough and enlightening literature provided in the Worms Downunder information pack.
For example, did you know the worms:
Getting Settled In
Breathe through their skin as they donât have any lungs
Are hermaphrodites (they all have both male and female reproductive organs)
Are sensitive to light to the point where paralysis can occur within one hour
Can die if their skin becomes too dry
Cannot regulate their body temperature as theyâre cold-blooded
In addition to body temperature, ambient temperature plays a major factor in the rate at which the Red Wigglers feed. Too high or too low a
temperature takes the worms out of their ideal comfort zone, greatly reducing the amount of food they consume.
However, in an ideal, well-maintained environment, Red Wigglers are capable of eating anywhere from 50 to 100% of their body weight in organic matter PER DAY.
Red Wigglers–A Garden’s Best Friend
So it stands to reason, then, the more worms, the better.
And the best part�
You donât have to worry about having to cull any of your Red Wiggler worm population as the little critters are as clever as they are hungry. Clever in that their reproduction is self-regulated in direct proportion to the size of their environment.
Regulated to the point where, in ideally maintained conditions, the worms can double their numbers once every three months.
Which, for the SBCGâs Double Grande Worm Habitat, will eventually equate to 80,000 Red WigglersâŠ
All doing their part in processing upwards of 40 litres of green waste a day, producing nutrient, soil-enriching worm âcastingsâ Â and helping to remove vast quantities of methane producing green waste from our local landfills.
A win-win for the SBCG and the local community alike.
If you wanted an example of community in action, a visit to your nearest community garden would be as ideal a stop as any.
And Tugun’s Southern Beaches Community Garden would be no exception. From garden beds which need building, grounds that need tending, compost bins that need turning and pony poo runs that need manning…
There’s plenty of work of the volunteer variety to go around. And, yet, that would only be half of the ‘community in action’ story.
Tugun’s Bendigo Bank Manager Allan Merlehan
Because, without funding from generous donors, all that work doesn’t even get off the ground. And in the case of the SBCG, chances are extremely good that generous donor would be the Tugun Branch of Bendigo Bank.
Yes, since the garden’s inception in 2009, Tugun’s Bendigo Bank has offered the garden’s members and the community, in general, its unwavering support. A level of community support that is extremely rare.
And one person that knows this better than anyone is Bendigo’s Tugun Branch Manager, Allan Merlehan.
So, that said, we at the SBCG wanted to show our gratitude by giving Allan the floor. To give him the opportunity to answer a few questions and, in doing so, to shed a little light on the banking mindset that has helped to separate and distinguish themselves from the rest of the banking, big player herd.
All while simultaneously helping the SBCG grow as much as it has.
So, Allan, how long have you worked for the Tugun Branch of Bendigo Bank? As a banker in general?
I’ve been at Tugun for I0 years and in finance for a total of 36.
Was there anything overly unique or special about the bank that sort of drew you to the place?
The âCommunityâ focus was one aspect and the other was they had bank managers with authority in their branches, so you had decision-makers at ground-level.
Having worked there for as long as you have, what do you feel makes Bendigo Bank different from other banks?
The bank’s focus on the customer & the community.
On average, how much does Bendigo Bank put back into the community each year?
Our branch directly sponsors about $90k.
When do you remember first hearing about the Southern Beaches Community Garden and how has the Tugun Branch been involved with the garden?
I heard about them very soon after I arrived in Tugun in January 2010. Since then our Tugun Community Bank Branch has provided over $32,000 in funding to assist with projects such as the propagation tunnel, water tanks, a covered seating area and a trailer. Our directors and staff have also volunteered in a working bee.
What were your first impressions of the organisation?
They immediately came across as a group of determined people wanting to improve their local community.
Since then, what have you found most interesting or impressive about the garden?
How the garden has continued to evolve from the initial concept 10 years ago to what it is today.
Bendigo’s Executive Assistant Maris Dirkx and SBCG friends
Do you find any similarities between the goals of your bank and the SBCG?
The goal of connecting with your local community & endeavouring to make a difference.
After so much involvement with the garden, what are your thoughts as you walk around the grounds that, over the years, youâve had such a significant hand in helping to shape?
I believe it is the members who have had a significant hand in shaping the garden into what it is today. We have assisted where we can, but it is the determination and hard work of the committee and the members of the SBCG that has brought that concept 10 years ago into a reality.
Of Bendigo Bankâs Tugun Branchâs many contributions to the local community, is there one that makes you most proud? If so, which one and why?
I am proud of all our contributions in the community, whether that is in a dollar value, the sharing of knowledge or the volunteering of time. Itâs not so much the contribution, but what it enables others to do, that makes a difference for our community.
Itâs a rare morning you wonât find SBCG member Natalia Ribeiro tending to her diverse and vibrant garden bed. Plot number five to be exact. The one, fittingly enough, located just around the entrance to the SBCG propagation tunnel housing fledgling seedlings which, if they could talk, would surely tell you about wanting to look just like the plants on their door step when they grow up.
Itâs the plot managing to grow coffee, pawpaw, Thai basil, various chilli plants, mint, tarragon, bitter melon, arrowroot, okra, various lettuces and, no doubt, a wide
Natalia & her Pawpaw
assortment of other unique fruits, flowers and veggies that might look familiar but whose names donât exactly leap off the tongue.
And while you might not know the names of everything growing in garden bed number 5, one look will tell you the person responsible for such a prolific plot has invested more than just a bit of their time and effort into that space.
And youâd be very right.
But probably not for the reasons you might think.
For Natalia Ribeiro, you see, her raised garden bed is more than the mere sum of its many bountiful parts. Itâs a portal of sorts. A connection to her past. A past that, until she and half of her eleven brothers and sisters emigrated to Portugal in 1974, saw Natalia grow up on her familyâs vast farm in East Timor.
So all that said, in what we hope will be the first of many ongoing âFaces in the Crowdâ posts to come, hereâs Nataliaâs take on all things gardening.
How long have you been a SBCG member and how did you first get into gardening?
The Ribeiro family farm in East Timor. A labour of love.
I joined the SBCG back around 2010. I was walking by and saw the area and immediately went in and started asking questions. As for how I got into gardening, thatâs a bit of a long story. I guess you could say itâs in my blood. My father took over the family farm in East Timor from my grandparents. It was more a ranch than a farm and we had everything on it. Livestock of all sorts and we grew all our fruit and vegetables. We were completely self-sufficient with the only thing we had to buy from the store being toiletries. My favourite memory of the place was sitting on our big veranda waiting for my father to come home from the fields. Iâd see him in his loaded up truck and Iâd get so excited to see him every time. I lived there until the age of nine. It was then, when my father decided things were getting too dangerous, that me and half my twelve brothers and sisters moved to Lisbon, Portugal. He ran that farm for 61 years before my oldest brother took over.
What do you find most rewarding about gardening?
Like was probably the case with my father, I find the most satisfying aspect of gardening being able to grow my own fruits and vegetables and being able to harvest and bring them home. Iâm proud to be able to say what I produce allows me to cook a delicious meal for my family.
What mistakes do you feel new gardeners make?
I think too many new gardeners underestimate the amount of work which is often necessary to produce and maintain a really healthy and productive garden over time.
They come in to it all very excited to get a garden bed and for the first few monthsâespecially when the weather is cooperatingâeverything seems perfect. But later, whether itâs their busy life outside the garden or whatever, they start to neglect things. Add long periods with little to no rain and failing to get their garden sufficient amounts of water only seems to make the issue worse. A garden can be a lot of responsibility. I donât think a lot of new gardeners understand that.
Natalia, bottom row (on right) with older sisters and baby brother
Whatâs your favourite fruit/veggie/flower to grow and why?
Iâd have to say pau pau is my favourite because itâs so healthy and it grows year round. Back in East Timor we ate it all the time green or ripe. We used all the parts of it, too. The leaves, the flowers. Everything. My father planted a big patch of it and I remember he used to sit on our veranda eating it with a spoon in the afternoons.
Whatâs an aspect of gardening you struggle with and why?
I know a lot of people will probably say the heat but, to be honest, Iâm pretty used to it. I suppose East Timor prepared me for it and I just really enjoy being outside tending to my plot and the other common areas. I usually arrive very early in the morning and am gone before things get too hot anyway. That way I do what I need to do in the garden and I still have plenty of time for other things I like to do like going to the beach.
Whatâs your favourite all natural fertilizer and why?
Although we have access to composted material in the garden, I still prefer grass clippings. The clippings are natural and generally in an abundant supply. I sometimes find bits of discarded plastic in the compost bins which kind of ruins everything for me. It might seem nit-picky, but Iâm just all for the grass clippings.
Whatâs the best way to convince a young person gardening is a viable activity?
Leading by example in an enthusiastic manner is probably the best way. That way itâs easier to explain how much fun gardening can be while having them help you with various projects around the garden, like watering.
If you were a politician with clout on the Gold Coast, what gardening related initiatives would you put in place?
Mr. and Mrs. Ribeiro
I would probably want to start an educational program in the area that focused more on recycling. Because it seems like a lot of people donât have a really good idea about what can and cannot be recycled or composted.
If you could swap out your gardening ability with another skill or hobby, what would it be and why?
One of biggest dreams of mine has always been to be a real qualified chef. Iâve always been pretty good at creating healthy meals for my family but to be a chef would let
me take things to a whole other level. Plus, being a chef would allow me to really capitalise on my knowledge of plants and vegetables.
Whatâs the most memorable tip anyoneâs ever given you pertaining to gardening?
Of course the most memorable tip Iâve received about gardening was from my father. He just always used to say that to have a beautiful and healthy garden you really just have to be committed to it and to believe.
In 1956, Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh had a plan. He wanted to set up an awards program which would recognise adolescents and young adults for completing a series of self-improvement activities. The ultimate goal of the program being to help young people discover their full potential by finding their purpose, passion and place in the world.
Co-workers, mentors, friends. Natalia Ribeiro (L) and Hana Smith (R)
To achieve this award, each young person would need to participate in a four part process. A process which revolves around physical recreation, skills, community service and participating in a team adventure in a new environment. All while under the guidance of award leaders, supervisors and accessors.
Today the Duke of Edinburgh Award has expanded to 144 countries with over 8 million young adults having participated in the past 55 plus years of its existence. And in Australia alone, the Duke of Edinburgh Award has seen over 775,000 young people participate.
Young people like 14 year olds, Niamh Williams and Hester Clark of Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar School in Terranora, NSW.
For a period of three months, both Niamh and Hester have collectively worked 26 hours under the guidance of SBCG
Planting Seedlings
Community Engagement Officer Di Gunther. In that time their activities and subsequent accomplishments have been numerous.
These activities and tasks involved garden projects including seeding and weeding along with general garden beautification projects. Projects such as designing murals for the garden white board and composting bins, installing and decorating the wooden frames around the gardenâs worm farm baths and assisting garden member Hana
Smith decorate large bulk containers with colourful and engaging sunflower and bumble bee scenes.
Additionally, the two friends also designed a folder containing various seedlings that are distributed at community workshops so the recipients can see what the plant will look like once it matures. And at the Palmy Festival, Niamh
Creative Helping Hands
donated her time at the Childrenâs Workshop answering questions and assisting the ever inquisitive youngsters in preparing and taking home a decorated pot with their choice of seedling.
In the end, itâs simply safe to say, itâs been a very hands on few months for two very busy bees. All of which has been incredibly appreciated.
âThe girls have been a credit to the youth of today,â says Gunther who adds such a positive experience will see her being
Niamh assisting at the Palmy Festival
very proactive in inviting many more young people into the garden. âThe artwork they have helped create has been happy and injects colour into the garden space and ignites the imagination of all agesâŠMore families have joined since the girls have been involved and when asked why, they simply state they enjoy the welcoming feeling they get when walking around the garden.â
As for how two teenagers managed to find themselves in the SBCG garden in the first place, that can be largely attributed to Niamhâs mother, Fiona, who, as fate would have it, herself participated in The Duke of Edinburgh back in 1988-89 while in school in Ireland. (Fittingly, Niamhâs father, Paul, completed his program in 1984-85 in England).
Fiona says she was struggling to find a project to fulfil the community service portion of the award until a couple lunch break discussions with Diâthe two are co-workers in the mental health department at Tweed Hospital– parted the clouds in what everyone seems to feel has been a very symbiotic working relationship.
Beautification Projects and Smiles
âItâs been good to see how everyone at the garden works as a team to make projects come together,â says Hester.
And Niamh, âI now have a greater interest in doing planting and gardening projects at home,â before adding a sentiment both rising high schoolers share. âThank you to Di, Hana and everyone else at the garden for making this such a positive experience.â
All of which is, no doubt, everything Prince Phillip could’ve hoped for.
