By CASEY NEILL
MAGGIE Beer breezes through the garden at Noble Park’s Uniting AgeWell, effortlessly offering advice and ideas for its transformation into a wellbeing space.
“Because I’m a gardener as well as a cook, there are things that I can see might just help,” she said.
MAGGIE Beer breezes through the garden at Noble Park’s Uniting AgeWell, effortlessly offering advice and ideas for its transformation into a wellbeing space.
“Because I’m a gardener as well as a cook, there are things that I can see might just help,” she said.
“It’s lovely to share ideas.”
The aged care home was among 11 recipients – from 100 applicants – of a grant from the Maggie Beer Foundation for wellbeing gardens.
“It’s not that it’s a great deal of money – this was $2500 – it’s about giving the impetus of something that had already begun to go to the next step,” Ms Beer said.
“So an acknowledgement that the ideas were already here, the first stage of the planning had been done – it was just giving it a bit of a kick-start.”
Ms Beer said she was “taken by the application” and “snuck in” a site visit between other appointments on Monday 22 February.
“I want to see how it plays out because every successful program, every successful garden, helps to encourage others to do the same,” she said.
She said the project would help residents to reconnect with the earth and community.
“It’s so important. There’s nothing but plusses here,” she said.
“I hope more and more people want to do it.”
The centre’s community programs co-ordinator Michelle Thompson echoed Ms Beer’s sentiments about social connectedness and sense of community.
The community garden will feature an outdoor kitchen and provide community access to produce.
“Once people move into an aged care home, this becomes their home but they often lose that connection back to the wider community,” she said.
“What we’re hoping is that we can draw the wider community into our aged care home and have those links continue.
“There’s a lot of research that says there’s therapeutic benefit in putting your hands in the dirt and reconnecting with the earth and, particularly for clients and residents with dementia, a calming effect.
“Men, particularly, of this generation would have been tinkering and pottering in their back yard and they lose that when they come into an aged care home.
“This will give them the opportunity to have that again.”
Landscaping for the project’s second stage will start on 10 March and take about a month to complete.
“That will give us the cultivation areas, the fruit trees, the small lawn bowls area and the raised garden beds,” Ms Thompson said.
She’s seeking funding for stage three, which will include a workshop and outdoor kitchen.
Uniting AgeWell Noble Park released a cook book, From Seed to Table, filled with cherished recipes from residents, volunteers and staff.
Ms Beer sampled recipes from the book during her visit, including butter chicken, meat balls and chocolate fudge.
“This is really great. I’m going back for seconds,” she said.
Proceeds from the book will go towards the garden.
Call 9554 0717 to buy a copy for $25.
