By Callum Ludwig
Badger Creek and District Men’s Shed are encouraging men in the local area to get involved with their display at the Bendigo Bank branch in Healesville.
The guys meet in the wood and metalworking sheds, located at 360 Badger Creek Road, behind the Badger Creek CFA, on Monday and Wednesday, from 9:30am to about 3:30pm. The Photography Club, which also encourages women to join, meets at the Shed on Friday from 10:30am to 1:00pm.
Coordinator Mario Herodotus said the Shed started up in 2015 when the Badger Creek CFA donated some land behind the station, and try to help out the community.
“Since then we put up our own shed, we’ve continued to expand. We’ve got agreements with both the CFA and the Badger Creek Hall to do a little bit of maintenance for them for reduced rates for the hall,” he said.
“We’ve been involved in the renovations going on at Maroondah Dam.We’ve been involved with the children at the Badger Creek Primary School and we’ve been involved in the Healesville garden.”
Right now, they are working on some new compost boxes and bird boxes for the 1st Healesville Scout Group.
Mr Herodotus said the photography club and technologies seminars run at the shed are also helping members become more tech-savvy through funding from the federal initiative Be Connected.
“We’ve taught courses on Microsoft Word and Excel, we’ve done courses on using your Android phone, connecting up your phone to your TV, things seniors tend not to really understand,” he said.
Annette Thomas alerted Mr Herodotus to the presentations on camera technology by the Photography Club as well.
“Annette and I have worked in technology all our lives, and we use our knowledge to create small presentations on almost a weekly basis where we will cover a topic such as aperture, shutter speed, ISO all the way to how do you crop a photo, how do you get the composition for the photo you want.”
Loneliness and isolation are an increasing issue amongst older residents, especially over the last couple of years due to Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns.
Vice President Roy Bennett said the Men’s Shed helps to provide a place where older men can find support and company.
“For me, it’s the camaraderie mainly, there’s always a shoulder you can lean on. We do look after one another,” he said.
Ms Thomas and Mr Herodotus said they try to raise awareness for mental health issues and invite professionals to visit the Shed.
“We’ve had doctors recommended to our groups to provide some members some support in a comfortable environment. We feel these members have settled in really well and we’ve been a real benefit to their mental health,” Ms Thomas said.
“We also participate with the Yarra Valley Men’s Health Organization. Brian Mears (Project Manager) has been up to shed a few times and we meet with him weekly to discuss men’s health issues,” Mr Herodotus said.
The group offers great opportunities to travel, with previous visits to the Twelve Apostles, a rodeo, Healesville Sanctuary, Stephenson’s Falls in Marysville, and Cloud Hill in Olinda. They are hoping to make a trip to the Silo Trail soon.
While the shed’s membership is primarily made up of older men, they encourage men of all ages to get involved and anyone is welcome.
