[00:00:03] Speaker A: Choice and Control is a podcast celebrating meaningful inclusion of people with disability in our communities, brought to you by carers Queensland, your NDIs Local area coordination partner in the community.
Each episode provides a conversation space for people with disability, their families and carers to share their stories with you. We also hear from members of the wider community, local businesses and community leaders who share information, ideas and possibilities to give you more opportunity and more choice and control in your life.
Alcaras Queensland Local Area coordinators continue to support local organisations to make practical changes to ensure people with disability have the opportunity to meet like minded people in our community, participate in social activities, and build skills and experience. The community garden in Yarrabilba in the Logan region is managed by a dedicated team of volunteers, including today's guests, both of whom live with this ability and hold positions of responsibility on the gardens management committee. First up in this episode, I chat with 27 year old Talisha from Yarrabilba, who lives with functional neurological disorder. Through her role as treasurer and garden manager, Talisha and her team have created a highly accessible garden, providing a wide range of community benefits, including produce that stems from their open garden policy.
[00:01:35] Speaker B: Well, it's a beautiful, sunny winter's day here at Yarrabilba Community Garden and I'm here with Talisha, who manages the day to day operations of the garden, holding a leadership position. Talisha, thanks for joining me today.
[00:01:48] Speaker C: Thank you.
[00:01:50] Speaker B: What goals have you been working on since joining the community garden group?
[00:01:54] Speaker C: Ah, many.
Originally it was just making the garden accessible.
When we took on the garden, we couldn't really even access the pathways, so just simple things like that, cleaning up all of the garden beds, we were very lucky that the garden existed when we took it on. It had gone through a few groups already.
Unfortunately, the last group had to let go of it, so we were fortunate that it had already existed.
We had a shed, we had garden beds. It just needed a lot of cleanup.
Once that happened, then we could focus on bringing in volunteers and planting and starting on projects.
[00:02:54] Speaker B: What are some of the current challenges that you're working on?
[00:02:59] Speaker C: I think volunteers is a big challenge.
Our volunteers that we do have at the moment have been quite busy with personal lives.
Our garden needs a bit done to it at the moment because we haven't had enough time for it, but more volunteers would be amazing. It is hard. A lot of people are interested in getting involved in the garden but don't have the time. With full time work and families, health problems, just everyday life, I think that's one of our big problems.
[00:03:42] Speaker B: How have you been trying to get more volunteers?
[00:03:46] Speaker C: Well, we are lucky that we are in a public space. We are at the front of Yarrabilba and a lot of people drive past and walk past, so we do get a lot of attention there. And we are also an open community garden, so we don't have any fences around our garden.
It is open 24/7 that has been a big help for us.
We have people walking through the garden to get to the oval that our garden is on, to the dog park that's next to it, walking past it to go to the supermarket.
When we're at the garden volunteering, we make sure to say hello to people passing by and that often brings interested volunteers.
Also, having a social media presence, we find, also helps.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: Having an open garden that people can access 24/7 that's been huge. Can you tell me about that and how that came about?
[00:04:56] Speaker C: Yes.
Well, it was already like that with the last group and we have thought back and forth whether we should keep it open or make it a closed garden.
But so far we have thought about keeping it open. There's just so many benefits to it.
There are obviously downsides to it as well.
There can be some graffiti, some people causing some minor damage, but we haven't had too many difficulties. Most of it's been really small and there's just so been so many benefits to it that we're more siding to the open garden. It's just. Yeah, it's.
[00:05:43] Speaker B: What are some of those benefits?
[00:05:47] Speaker C: For example, different people like to garden at different times of day, on different days. And being able to come whenever you want to is amazing.
You might want to come in the morning, first thing in the morning or evening, midday. You can come whenever you'd like to.
We have people that don't necessarily volunteer, but just want to harvest, and they are welcome to do that whenever they want to.
[00:06:18] Speaker B: So how do you decide on what projects to do for the garden?
[00:06:24] Speaker C: We listen to the community and what they'd like to see happening. We talk together as a committee.
What we see would benefit the community.
Yeah.
[00:06:39] Speaker B: Talisha, making the garden inclusive for people with disability is incredibly important. What changes have you made to ensure your garden is inclusive and accessible?
[00:06:50] Speaker C: Yep.
One of the most important is keeping all of the pathways clear at all times. So clear from weeds, clear from plants. So we don't want plants to overgrow onto pathways. They need to be clear for people to walk through or for mobility aids and prams.
We've had to. On the edges of the garden. We have when we took on the garden. There was some high wood edging and we did have to ramp those off a little bit because they were a bit too high. Also on our social media. So we have working bees once a month and we make sure to put on there that everyone is welcome, all abilities.
We also say that it's mobility aid, accessible. We find that really important.
[00:07:45] Speaker B: Community gardens have such a social benefit as well.
[00:07:49] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:07:49] Speaker B: Can you tell me about that?
[00:07:51] Speaker C: Yes. So you might not necessarily be coming to garden or to harvest. A lot of people just come to sit on our chairs and enjoy being in nature and meeting other people that enjoy nature or gardening.
At our working bees, we have people come to talk to others, meet other.
[00:08:15] Speaker B: People in the community, helping people in the community. There's many ways we can do that. But you've chosen to work in gardens. Why gardens?
[00:08:26] Speaker C: Well, I actually used to run a community pantry in Yorubilba as well, and that was providing pantry food for people in need. And back then there wasn't much fresh produce for people in need. And this is, I think, something that we really need in our community.
Fresh produce for people in need, especially at this time. Right now, so many of us are struggling and so it's not just the social aspect, it's the financial aspect.
Having fresh produce for people in our area free of charge, that's the. A big part of what we do.
[00:09:09] Speaker B: And is that also why you have an open garden policy?
[00:09:11] Speaker C: Definitely, yes.
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[00:10:07] Speaker B: Talisha, over the years you've tried to build greater community connections with local community organisations. How has this benefited the garden?
[00:10:17] Speaker C: Yes, well, one of the most recent community connections, we partnered up up with one of our local schools and they helped us paint a brand new kindness rock sign.
That's a project that we have redone. So the last group had done that, but it needed redoing and so they painted the sign and rocks. So the initiative is people can leave rocks for other people to find.
It could be a pretty picture, a kind word.
And other people visiting the garden can take that home for themselves or they can give it to a friend or a family member to make them feel a bit better, have a nicer day.
And part of that was improving the connection with the young children in our community, as we have found a. When we do get minor vandalism at the community garden, it is usually children.
And we thought involving the children more at Community garden would help with that and did it.
So it's only recent. We have just installed it two months ago, but we haven't had any vandalism, so I think that's a good sign.
[00:11:43] Speaker B: Sounds like it's working.
[00:11:45] Speaker C: Yeah. And we have noticed so many children coming and going for the rocks. And not just children, adults as well. Coming and leaving rocks, taking rocks. It's been beautiful. Yeah, it's been beautiful.
[00:11:56] Speaker B: What a great initiative to symbolically bring the community together.
[00:12:00] Speaker C: Yes. And we're not stopping there.
We are going to install a welcome sign in the centre entrance of the garden and we are looking at partnering with a local community centre and they've got a youth group that will help paint that as well. A teenage youth group. Yeah.
[00:12:23] Speaker B: So you're working with school children, teenagers. Do you have any multicultural groups that get involved?
[00:12:29] Speaker C: Not currently.
We've got many projects and ideas that we want to go forward with. It's just a matter of time and volunteers, but we do have a lot of different cultures coming and using the garden and getting involved.
[00:12:46] Speaker B: It's just such a wonderful community space. In terms of your future for the community garden here at Yarrabilba, what are your goals?
[00:12:58] Speaker C: Well, we'd love to have lots of food, lots of produce to offer. The public have plans of installing a plant swap stand at the front of the garden. People can drop off plants, seeds, excess produce for the community to swap.
We'd like to install a little greenhouse.
We've got so many plans.
What else have we got?
We'd like to install some high wheelchair accessible beds.
We're removing some older barrel pots at the moment and we'll be replacing those with some wheelchair accessible beds that also can be used by people with walkers and crutches.
We find our most used beds are definitely our raised beds, as we do have a lot of our volunteers are older volunteers or people with health issues, so that's really important.
[00:14:14] Speaker B: Well, Talisha, thank you so much for joining me today and all the best with growing the future of your garden.
[00:14:19] Speaker C: Thank you so much and thanks for the chat.
[00:14:24] Speaker E: Disaster doesn't discriminate in an emergency. Our community and first responders need to be ready to help keep everyone safe. Keres Queensland is working with local agencies and emergency services to ensure people with disability are considered and included. Everyone has a role to play at times of disaster by people with disability, creating their own person centred emergency preparedness or PSAP plan and sharing their plan with their support network. They can feel more confident to keep safe during emergencies. Find out more, get in touch or look for events and opportunities coming up near you. Visit our website carersqld.com dot au or call our enquiries line on 1309 9636.
[00:15:06] Speaker A: Our next guest in this episode is 27 year old Joshua McVie from Yarrabilba who lives with ADHD and autism spectrum disorder. Through his role as assistant treasurer, Josh is helping to make the garden a thriving space, building his skills in accountancy and expanding his social connections.
[00:15:26] Speaker B: Hi Josh, thanks for joining me today.
[00:15:28] Speaker F: You're welcome. Lovely to meet you.
[00:15:31] Speaker B: You're the assistant treasurer of the garden, which is a leadership position.
[00:15:35] Speaker A: Can you tell me what that involves?
[00:15:37] Speaker F: It's mainly looking after the accounts of how much our funding is coming through, but it's also to ensure that whenever we make any spending that we're not spending a ludicrous amount, but also keeping and backtracking all the accounts to ensure that everything is accounted for.
[00:15:55] Speaker B: Why did you want to take on a leadership position in the garden?
[00:15:59] Speaker F: I wanted to become more involved in a sense, and feel like I am a part of my community a lot more than just being a good old worker bee for the garden itself.
[00:16:12] Speaker B: What do you enjoy about being assistant treasurer of the garden?
[00:16:16] Speaker F: When I was younger, one of my dream jobs that I thought about, you know, when I wasn't thinking I'll be a superhero, space man, astronaut, cowboy, secret spy kind of guy, I actually thought of a genuine job of trying to become an accountant or a bookkeeper and essentially I haven't gotten that kind of job yet, but this is going to scratch that kind of itch that I used to have when I was a kid.
[00:16:42] Speaker B: And how's it going? Are you finding that you're getting adequate numbers and challenges there for you?
[00:16:47] Speaker F: Oh, definitely.
I find it quite rewarding to like cause I've always had a passionate about numbers that I would like to see where it goes and see how I can help when it comes to numbers the most.
[00:17:06] Speaker B: When you're managing the finances of the garden. What are some of the challenges you've faced and how have you overcome those?
[00:17:13] Speaker F: I think the couple of challenges was forgetting to put down the specific date of when the receipt came through, but I remembered to go back and I can quickly edit it so it's not too much of a challenge. It's just a slight mistake on the human part, but I'm able to fix it quite needfully if I need to.
[00:17:31] Speaker B: You're obviously very active in the garden itself. What is it that you enjoy about coming to this community garden and getting involved?
[00:17:40] Speaker F: I think it's not really the nature side of things. It's more the human connection side of things that I'm able to talk to other individuals who also are having it a bit rough, but at the same time can empathize. Or even.
It's almost like free therapy in a way as well. Because not only are you doing activities that work in physical labor that help you through the physical needs of what you want to work out with and what you want to vent about, because there's different ways you can vent, but the human side of being able to talk to other individuals allows for a utmost freeing kind of experience.
[00:18:19] Speaker B: And how have you been made to feel included and valued in this space?
[00:18:25] Speaker F: Well, I don't really feel like I'm judged or that I'm made fun of or even mocked in any way or shape or form. I can bring up a topic and people will usually listen and will brandish their own opinion if the need arises.
[00:18:40] Speaker B: And has that sometimes not been your experience in the community?
[00:18:47] Speaker F: I've had a few issues every now and then.
It's not been too brash. I just. Sometimes I might get a little overwhelmed or overstimulated. And other times I just feel like that I'm not really seen or heard of. I have seen that in my community, people are making greater attempts and steps to improve themselves. And that's all I ask out of anybody, is that we always consistently improve.
[00:19:15] Speaker B: Why is that important?
[00:19:17] Speaker F: Because it shows growth. That we know that we're not at the limit to where we are, but that we can go further beyond. And that's what I find about the most satisfying thing out of the human condition, is that we want to push ourselves to become better than what we were yesterday.
[00:19:35] Speaker B: And if you're pushing yourself to become better, what are your goals that you're working towards?
[00:19:42] Speaker F: I'm looking at trying to get my driver's license, and I want to see about getting a job after the driver's license. And I'm looking at, like, a couple of years from now, probably working part time at movie world as a performer.
[00:19:55] Speaker B: As a performer, yes. Doing what?
[00:19:59] Speaker F: Well, you know, probably spouting a bed of lies, but lying to make other people smile in a way.
[00:20:05] Speaker B: So you'll obviously be cussed as the superman character or something like that.
[00:20:08] Speaker F: Or super villain.
[00:20:13] Speaker G: Carers Queensland is growing inclusion, awareness and opportunities for people with disability. And we're better to grow things than a garden. We're working with community gardens to improve accessibility and make sure people of all abilities can get their hands dirty. We're starting conversations about what the community wants and needs and how we can work together to give everyone a place to put down roots and bloom.
Find out more, get in touch, or look for events and opportunities coming up near you. Visit our
[email protected], dot au or call our inquiries line on 1399.
[00:20:57] Speaker B: Here in the garden, you've obviously made friends and you've been involved for quite a while. What are some of the specific social benefits that you particularly enjoy?
[00:21:06] Speaker F: Well, like I said before, like, I touched base with the connection thing. I think it's also finding some of those people, like, around town that it's not just the garden, but, like, you find them around in the community and you can be like, oh, hey, it's good to see you again. You know, establishing connections is the number one thing that all humans need to do. Whether introvert or extroverted, we still need that kind of connection. Otherwise we just end up in our own little bubble, and that's not good for anyone.
[00:21:37] Speaker B: Social isolation can be a problem for people with disability. Can it?
[00:21:41] Speaker F: Yeah. I actually had a gap year after high school where I kind of was socially isolated. And I. My mum had picked up on it. And eventually, after calling me day and night to make sure I was okay, asked me to come back home. So I did.
[00:21:58] Speaker B: Since that experience and coming here to the garden, you've obviously grown and developed a real social network.
[00:22:05] Speaker F: Yeah, I've gained a lot of friends, people I can confide in, talk to, joke around with, you know, essentially, I have. I've opened up that bubble that I used to be trapped in for so long and been able to express myself a lot more nowadays than what I used to when I was younger.
[00:22:24] Speaker B: What message and advice would you have to someone who might be struggling and is still in that space? What would you say to them?
[00:22:32] Speaker F: I would say that it may be difficult, it may be hard, but just take a deep breath. Take it one step at a time. Even if it's little baby steps doesn't have to be big strides. But just get yourself out there, talk to people, make connections and just try to live life the way you want to do, not what they expect of you.
[00:22:52] Speaker B: And if that means getting involved in your local community garden, exactly.
[00:22:56] Speaker F: We could always use the extra help.
[00:22:58] Speaker B: Josh, it's been great talking to you today. Thank you so much.
[00:23:00] Speaker F: It's been great talking to you too.
[00:23:03] Speaker A: And that was Joshua McVeigh, assistant treasurer of Yarrabilba Community Garden. And if you'd like to get involved in your local community garden or attend one of the many community gardens events organised by Charis Queensland, follow the links in the episode transcript.
Thanks for joining us at Choice and Control, a Carers Queensland podcast. If you've enjoyed this podcast episode, please take a moment to leave a rating and review and share it with your community. For more information about the National Disability Insurance Scheme or Carers Queensland, contact us online at www.carersqld.com dot Au or call us on 1399 636 or head to facebook and look for Carers Queensland NDIs.
