Gawler Community Garden

Gawler Community Garden

by | Dec 12, 2022 | CHS Community Grants, Community Connections, Country Home Services

Gawler Community Gardens

It’s been 8 years in the making, but now the Gawler Community Gardens is about to turn a neglected block of land into a vibrate, productive community garden. Kalie, our manager of mission and strategy, recently met volunteer committee members Tracey, Debbie, Andrew, Ron, and Amber at the block land in order to provide them with one of our CHS Community Grants to get them started.

The vision of the volunteers is to provide a safe sustainable community garden that is inclusive for all. Gardeners young and old will learn and share their knowledge, plants, recipes, and medicinal uses with their community.

In the future, they hope to establish sessions with nursing home residents in conjunction with the physical therapy coordinators. The Gawler Community Garden aims to be inclusive and flexible to target all capacity levels and age groups.

The benefits of gardening to older people include:

  • Improved physical health, as it promotes physical activity and gentle movement reducing health issues such as osteoporosis and exposure to Vitamin D.
  • Improved mental health, as the garden promotes social interaction and reduces isolation which is often associated with the older person and in particular country residents.
  • Improved nutrition from the growing of healthy foods.

The community garden aims to be all-encompassing and the committee is acutely aware of the value of encouraging the participation of older people not only for their benefit but for the insight, knowledge, and experience they have to share.


The grant funding will be used to buy, build and establish 7 raised garden beds which will enable people with physical restrictions to be able to participate without stooping or bending.

There will be wide and firm paths to assist those who need wheelchair and pram access, and the gardens will also include a Kiddy Corner next to the main garden and workshop space to help support parents who want to engage more with the community.

It is an exciting venture that we are more than happy to support with one of our grants, and they have also attracted support from the Food Forest and the Gawler environment centre which has been great.

Volunteers have also started gathering but they would love more, so if you live local to Gawler and if this interests you then you may wish to contact them via their facebook page – gawlercommunitygarden

They would be keen for grant-writing volunteers as well as people who would literally want to get their hands dirty.

Meet Gaynor – one of our many caring and passionate workers

Meet Gaynor – one of our many caring and passionate workers

by | Dec 7, 2022 | Country Home Services, Our Contractors

Meet Gaynor

One of our many caring and passionate workers

We are so fortunate to have so many caring workers that are passionate about supporting our clients, and our contractor Gaynor is definitely one of them.

Gaynor has always been happy to help people. She has been a teacher, a childcare worker, and a devoted mum. Gaynor has been contracting for us for about 12 months now, initially working for another contractor but now she has decided to contract by herself, and she really enjoys her role in this area.

Living in Kapunda, she looks after some local clients and also comes down to the Barossa area. She provides Social Support and Domestic Assistance Services and commented that she is “Happy to help them with what they would like me to do, and how they would like me to do it.” This is valuable to our clients who know how they like to have their homes cleaned.

Gaynor also mentioned “I have a professional and personal rapport with the clients I work with. I have always admired people of mature age and I love listening to all their experiences in life as well as their challenges. On the flip side, most are also interested in me as a person which is fulfilling.

I feel country people have a different outlook in many ways and I can relate to this as I am from a farming family.”

“I don’t work for the clients, I work with the clients and I am a strong believer in keeping people as independent as they can be in their own homes. They have chosen this service for themselves and at any time due to medical, social, place of residency etc., they may choose differently, and I understand that as well.”

Gaynor shared with us that she loves contracting with us, not only because she loves caring for her clients but also because of the flexibility it provides. She is able to choose when and what days she works and has the free time she needs for those important appointments.