The Towards Employment pathway (a School Leaver Employment Supports pathway) focuses not only on employment skills, but also life skills, where participants can get hands on experiences within the local community to learn and grow new skills that are transferable into everyday living.
Harry, David F, David G, Kartika and Towards Employment facilitator, Hannah visit the OC Connections Mackie Road Neighbourhood House Community Garden, plot every Wednesday to care for their garden. Here they check up on their vegetables and flowers, and undertake tasks such as watering, fertilising, wedding and getting rid of pests.
Earlier in the year the group visited the local Bunnings in Springvale to choose which vegetables they wanted to plant. With support from Hannah, the group planted all the seedlings in May and started the long-awaited countdown for harvest. Prior to reaping the rewards, the group had to continue to tend to their garden.
The participants were supported to work together and created a rotating roster for all the tasks that needed to be completed to ensure the garden thrived.
Each participant was able to take a vegetable home with them and share it with their families. Harry’s family made bunless burgers with the lettuce; Kartika’s family made soup from the wombook cabbage, David G’s family incorporated spring onion into their tacos and David F’s family made a yummy salad with the silverbeet!
Teamwork, patience, responsibility, and communication are not just great for gardening but are also important skills that can be implemented into the work environment too. We look forward to seeing what delicious dishes the Towards Employment group will make with their vegetables next time.
If you would like to find out more about Towards Employment opportunities, please contact Hannah at hisles@occonnections.org.
