Six Logan locals have been busy building an accessible community garden at Jimboomba’s Caddie Community Centre, for everyone to enjoy.
On 3 December, it’ll be opened to the community, who can visit the gardens to connect with others, sit quietly in nature, or tend to the greenery.
The accessible community garden project is part of the federal government’s ‘Work for the Dole’ program, which Workways, a not-for-profit organisation that provides employment, social and environmental support services to the community, delivers.
Kylie Baudino, a community relationship coordinator at Workways, said building the garden had been a valuable experience for those who have participated in the project.
“It’s been amazing to see them develop from the first week where they weren’t so confident to now where they’re just enjoying each other’s company and working together as a team,” Ms Baudino said.
“They’ve gained transferable skills and confidence through their team-building experience, as well.
“They’re part of something that actually makes a big difference for the community.”
The participants are also gaining industry-recognised accreditations like a Construction Induction Card or ‘white card’, which will allow them to work on construction sites, Ms Baudino said.
“The first couple of weeks were spent building 13 planter boxes, building a gazebo that will be furnished with a barbecue, and at the moment we’re working on the footings for a water tank,” she said.
“There are accessible pathways to enter and exit the garden, and this week, quite a few lily pillies were planted as well.”
To ensure the garden could be accessed by everyone in the community, Caddie’s Community Centre consulted an in-house occupational therapist to ensure the garden pathways met access requirements.
“It will be a place where there’ll be events held and such and gatherings, and anyone can access it at any time,” Ms Baudino said.
“The idea is that the older generation and younger gender generation will be welcome there, so a place to come and sit and enjoy.”
This project is the first Work for the Dole project Workways has initiated in south-east Queensland, although the organisation has had success in other states, particularly Victoria, Ms Baudino said.
“Our role in communities, from a workplace perspective, is to help our job-ready participants into work, but if they’re not job-ready, we focus on establishing behaviors that are going to form the foundations for sustainable work when they’re ready,” she said.
“By offering opportunities in the community, such as the Work for the Dole project at Caddies, or other volunteering opportunities, there is the potential for our participants who are not yet job-ready to develop transferable skills and actual industry-specific skills.”
“We’ve been working closely with Caddies in adult placement where we send individuals to the centre to do volunteering work, to learn transferable skills and to work on non-vocational skills.”
Workways and Caddies Community Centre invite the public to celebrate the opening of the accessible community garden in Jimboomba from 1pm on 3 December.
