A radio interview has led to a green-thumbed volunteer group refreshing garden beds at The Cottage Homes Mitcham.
In May 2023, our Cottage Homes CEO Ben Sarre was interviewed on ABC 891 ahead of a History Week event to celebrate our 150-year anniversary.
A member of the Rosefield Uniting Church in Highgate got in touch with Ben after hearing the interview, keen to know more about The Cottage Homes and the work we do.
“We knew little about The Cottage Homes before he spoke on the radio, so we invited Ben to tell the Cottage Homes story at our fundraising dinner that August” said volunteer Ian Stewart.
The annual event held to raise funds for various charities raised $1,600.
Inspired by Ben’s story, the active volunteer group at the church agreed that the money should directly support The Cottage Homes Mitcham site which is in their local community.
“We were impressed with how Ben painted a clear picture of the work they do, and we wanted to support that,” said Ian.
“Our community has a strong garden club that showed interest and appreciation for The Cottage Homes work and the fact they had a site at Mitcham fitted in nicely.”
Not only did they choose to donate the funds raised to help buy plants, but the church members also volunteered their time and gardening experience to do the planting.
“A lot of people in our community like getting their hands dirty so they decided that we would like to help with the landscaping of gardens at Mitcham,” said Ian.
The completion of a recent external upgrade was the perfect time for the group to upgrade an existing garden bed along jacaranda-lined Hill Street.
Ian, the former owner of Barrow & Bench Mitre 10 on Unley Rd, Malvern, called on the store for support. Current Barrow & Bench owner Amanda and her team prepared a plan and provided all plants and mulch at a significant discount.
“We couldn’t have done it without the significant contribution that Mitre 10 made. They provided all the plants at a considerably reduced rate to fit in with our budget,” said Ian.
A small team of volunteers prepared the garden bed on November 6, removing weeds and softening the soil.
A larger team then returned on November 28 to sow 80 plants including purple statice, unintentionally continuing the purple theme in the street led by the jacarandas.
“We chose plants that are hardwearing and tough,” said Ian. “We wanted the garden to be low maintenance so that the residents can continue to maintain them. We’ve left some fertiliser, and the watering is now in the capable hands of the residents”.
When asked why this group volunteers, Ian said “we just really enjoy helping”.
“We have done a number of these projects locally and overseas. Our backs aren’t as good as they used to be, but we still get in and do something and it gives a great degree of satisfaction.”
Pictured above from left to right: Rosefield Uniting Church volunteer group members David, Derick, Pip, Allan, Alice, Ian, Barry, John (with his furry friend!), Ian, and Marj. Below: the volunteers in action.
