Community Gardens Conversations

Planting the seeds of inclusion to grow participation of people with disability in community gardens.

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We are working with Community Garden representatives to increase their understanding of inclusion. We are supporting them to make practical changes to ensure people with disability have the opportunity to participate.

Community gardens offer an opportunity to meet like-minded people in our community, participate in social activities and build skills and experience that may form a pathway to economic participation.

By connecting community gardens and organisations, local councils, and people with disability, we are planting seeds of inclusion that will grow opportunities for future participation.

Express your interest

If you are a community garden representative interested in exploring inclusion in your garden, or a person with a disability interested in finding out more, we invite you to express your interest by completing the form below, emailing us at cq.communityandmainstream@ndis.gov.au or calling the Carers Queensland Enquiries Line on 1300 999 636.

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Podcast

Talecia Bolton, Yarrabilba Community Garden

Meet Talecia from the Yarrabilba Community Garden, and find out why she's so passionate about the garden she's stepped up to take over running it.

Transcript

I was struggling really badly with my mental health. I wasn't leaving the house because of my disability, I was feeling really isolated, lonely, and bored, I had to get used to my new body, and a lot of my hobbies I could no longer do anymore.

It was a bit of a difficult thing at the time, so my partner and I had a bit of a discussion and we decided we'd look into a hobby we can do together. And we thought the community garden would be the best option, because I love gardening and I was missing it really badly.

With my symptoms, I am very limited to what I can do, so my partner and carer Thomas said he would help me. So we started going to the community garden together, it's mostly me sitting there watching him. But that has been amazing for my mental health, just clearing my head, getting out of the house, socialising, and just enjoying gardening.

I wouldn't be able to do it without him. I can't drive anymore, I have awful mobility, yeah, he has been essential. So I'm very grateful. A lot of people with disability struggle with that, you know. They might be on their own, they might not have someone who can take them to the garden.

When we started going to the garden last year, the group that had the garden, they were actually making the decision to give it up. They were giving up the lease, so it was completely abandoned. The garden looked like a forest of weeds.

So we got in contact with the council asking what was going on. For about three months we were searching, trying to find a new group to help us with the garden. Unfortunately, we had no luck. So we ended up deciding to take it on ourselves.

We created our own incorporated group to take on the garden. We just didn't want to see the garden go to waste, it had so much potential. The application is with the council at the moment, we're just waiting on approval.

We just want to see it being used. It's been several years now, and it's been abandoned. We want to see it flourishing: we want to see the community being involved, community groups being involved, lots of community events, lots of fruit and veg and flowers, we just want to see it completely turned around. We want to see it flourish, especially with what's going on with the world now and a lot of people in need.

It'd be amazing to have fresh produce available for those in need. We have a lot of pantry food available, you know, community pantries in the area, but we don't have any fresh produce. So that would be amazing for community. We're very excited.

Try not to let your disability stop you. Don’t feel like because you can't do what the average person can do, that you shouldn't go. It’s okay if you're just sitting there and watching, or doing tiny little bits. Just go and enjoy the environment, enjoy watching others, you might have to do things in a different way, and that's completely okay. It's there for us to enjoy.

It's a perfect opportunity for those with disability because we tend to struggle with our mental health, being you know, stuck at home.

Personally, when I want to go somewhere, I need to contact them first. I need to look on their Facebook page or their website, I need to make sure that they're wheelchair friendly, that I can actually go there. So if you've got a Facebook page or a website, write that you're wheelchair accessible, have contact information so that they can contact you.

That's really important, because they it might not be about mobility, they might have questions about other things before they want to get involved. So I think that's very important. And it can be quite hard for us to get to the garden. We might not be able to drive there ourselves.

I think [community gardens can support people with disability by] being really supportive and welcoming, just letting them know, you know, if you need support. Just ask if you think there's anything we can do to make your time at the garden easier. just ask, and if they if they can't themselves, they might have a carer who can that can help with that.

Yeah, just be supportive. Just be welcoming, so that they feel comfortable asking for help if they need it. There are so many different disabilities and each person is unique. Each person is different. It's important to talk to them and find out what they need.

Growing inclusion for all abilities

Meet some of the keen gardeners who took part in a community gardens forum organised by Carers Queensland.

Transcript

Carlos Estrada-Grajles, Carers Queensland: Hi my name is Carlos. I’m from the Community Development Team here at Carers Queensland. Today we're going to hear from Community Garden representatives, also NDIS participants that happen to like gardening, and also members of the community getting together to discuss different ways for people with disability to be included and participant in the Community Garden space in Brisbane.

Anne Bermingham, Vera Street Community Garden: We have a desire to be as inclusive and accessible as possible, but it would be great to expand our thinking around that and develop some processes.

I think I want to get out of today, a bit more, I guess kind of clarity. As convener of the garden, I’d like to be in a position to really be inspiring our members and our existing garden community around this issue, getting people enthused, getting people connected with the idea that this is something that would really enrich our garden if we were opening our arms and our hearts to more people in our community.

Veronica Martin, Northey Street City Farm: Really excited about today. I'm hoping we can share a whole lot of experiences that the different community gardens have had, and also learn more from each other I guess, from what we experience, what we have learned, how we will deal with different issues.

So I'm hoping today will be a nice networking day and a day to learn from each other, I guess.

Nathan Freney, Swallowtail Nursery: I own Swallowtail Nursery for disability kids, to teach them basic horticulture skills and to give back to the community as well.  I found out today, most community gardens don't know how to implement ways for people with disability to access community gardens. So I'm basically here to say ‘this is where we should go in future, and this is how we should be doing it’.

Voiceover: Community gardens play a vital role in building inclusive communities, and here at Carers Queensland as the NDIS Local Area Coordinator Partner in the Community we are committed to working together with our community to develop inclusive environments for people with disability to achieve their needs and aspirations.

Carers Queensland, your NDIS LAC Partner in the Community. Build a more inclusive community with us. Contact us on 1300 999 636, visit our website carersqld.com.au or like us on Facebook at facebook.com/CarersQueenslandNDIS.

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