Shed for all men

By Kath Gannaway
UP AND down the Warburton Highway, men are tinkering in their sheds.
For those lucky enough to have one, the backyard shed is a bloke’s domain; a retreat, a meeting place, a place for inventing, for watching the footy, for fixing – or not fixing – things.
Men’s Shed, a new project starting at the Warburton Incubator in November, will fill the gap for men who no longer have their own shed.
“Women are good at socialising and keeping in touch but men need more than a cup of tea as a reason to get together,” said Les Burton, project coordinator.
The job seems made for Mr Burton who started out as a carpenter and joiner, was a paramedic for 20 years and then worked in aged care for 16 years.
“For men who might be living in caravan parks, units or flats, or who, for different reasons are unable to work alone, this will get them back into it.”
The roomy green shed will be a place for all the things that go on in a shed – building furniture, repairing mowers and tools and other things the men themselves choose to do.
“For some that will mean just having a chat, for others it could mean getting involved in building things for local community projects or some gardening around the Incubator,” Mr Burton said.
Some of the men will have dementia and require more supervision, for others it will be using skills they’ve had for years or learning new ones.
Mr Burton called for older men and others with technical and carer skills to be part of a reference group to steer the project.
Old hand-tools are also needed, along with bits and pieces such as nails, screws … anything in fact which is non-electric that has a place in a backyard shed.
The Men’s Shed, run by the Upper Yarra Community House (UYCH) and funded by the Department of Ageing, will initially run for one day a week.
Anyone who can help, or who would like further information about joining the project, can call the UYCH on 5967 1776.