MOVING into the nursery industry in September last year was a brave move for Eastern Access Community Health (EACH).
Taking on the Super Soil franchise just a few months later took ‘brave’ up another notch.
EACH delivers community health, disability and support services in the eastern region, including training and employment service for people who would otherwise struggle to access work opportunities.
They pride themselves on being a little courageous when it comes to addressing community needs.
A cleaning service run by EACH has proved successful and the nursery project is an even more entrepreneurial leap into manufacturing opportunities for people with a range of physical and mental health challenges.
A small band of people are working on a voluntary basis at the nursery, learning the trade, literally from the ground up.
Liz Wrigley, social enterprises co-ordinator, said the volunteers work on a range of skills from potting up to retail.
Beyond Blue recently released a paper on the benefit of contact with nature for mental health and wellbeing.
“The take-home message is that there is a significant relationship between mental health and greenness,” was the first sentence of the paper’s conclusions.
Community gardening, something not dissimilar to the EACH Nursery project, was identified as having a wide range of benefits in areas including cardiovascular health, depression and anxiety.
Ms Wrigley said while operating as a commercial nursery, it was always changing to incorporate their role in providing options for their clients.
“We are planning to incorporate a no-dig garden for older people and others with particular types of disability, and would like to have small groups take ownership of particular areas, such as the fernery,” she said.
“One of the important things in any recovery and belonging to a community is having a sense of ownership,” she said.
She said developing confidence to go into the workforce, or back to school, was also a big part of the training.
With the first anniversaries of their nursery venture falling either side of Mental Health Week, 10 to 16 October, Ms Wrigley said EACH had decided to have three weeks of celebrations with lots of specials and demonstrations.
“We want the community to know we are here, that there is a lot happening in the area of mental health and that gardening is a wonderful mental health activity,” she said.
The fun starts on Saturday, with two sessions – Planning a garden for bushfire prevention and recovery at 11am and Attracting birds and butterflies to your garden at 2pm.
On 2 October at 11am, you can find out how to create a no-dig vegetable garden, followed at 2pm with Keeping your garden healthy and pest free the organic way.
On Saturday, 9 October horticultural therapists Paul and Karen de la Motte will present a Gardening for Health workshop at 10.45am.
Bookings are needed for this workshop. Phone 5962 5054 for further details. EACH Super Soil Nursery and Garden Centre is at 82 Maroondah Highway, Healesville.
