Buds

Do you love gardening, but find it hard to give your garden the love it needs on your own?

Would you like to meet a younger person who could share your interest in gardening and give you a helping hand?

Lively is partnering with Darebin Council to run a 6-month trial of an intergenerational gardening program. The program will support older residents to maintain an active involvement in gardening for their enjoyment, health and wellbeing while getting to know and work with a local young person.

It will also offer employment, training, and experience for local young people aged 18-25, so by participating in the program, you're also helping out a young person in need of work.

How does it work?

1

We’ll match you with a local young person to work alongside you in the garden.

2

Together with your Helper, you’ll agree on when you’d like them to come by to give you a helping hand. You’ll have up to three hours per month available to use with your Helper, and you can schedule these hours however you (and perhaps the weather!) choose!

3

During visits, your Helper will work with you to tackle a range of light gardening tasks as defined by you. These may include:

- Garden clean ups
- Planting
- Pruning
- Mulching
- Setting up a vegetable garden

4

If you need a hand with any one-off, heavier-duty jobs that require more technical skills or equipment, we can arrange this at the start of the program.

What we offer

This program isn’t just about gardening; it’s about buddying you up with a Helper who you can get to know and who will join you as a friendly companion and willing pair of hands to help you stay involved in your garden.

It’s not a traditional gardening service, and the Helpers aren’t professional gardeners. They’ll rely on your pointers as to what you need done, and will appreciate your guidance as you work in the garden together. The program is a chance for them to learn gardening skills from you, too! 

All of our Helpers will carry a basic set of gardening tools and equipment and are trained to make sure they observe appropriate physical distancing and hygiene measures.

What does it cost?

The program has been heavily subsidised by the Darebin Council and costs just $10 per month. This entitles you to three hours of support that can be delivered in a flexible manner according to your needs.

Our Helpers

We work to match you with a young person who is local to your area, facilitating new connections with your community as well as valuable employment for the young people involved.

All Lively Helpers are verified in person, thoroughly screened with reference and police checks, and have completed COVID-specific training from the Department of Health to ensure that the support on offer is delivered safely. Helpers have the skills to complete basic gardening tasks, enthusiasm for the role and an ability to learn quickly from your lead!

Keen to get started?

This program is available to Darebin residents over 65, or over 50 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Please give us a call on the number below and select option 4 for Buds. We are a small (but passionate) team... if we don't answer straight away, please leave a voicemail with your name and phone number, and we'll return your call to chat through the program as soon as we can.

 Call us at  03 9070 4746   Email  hello@lively.org.au

We are currently still accepting enquiries for the program into December and would love to hear from you!