Growing skills, opportunities and people in Leopold

THE Paddock in Leopold has stuck to its principle of not only growing produce, but also people for the past 16 years, regardless of their background or ability.

The Paddock, run by Encompass Community Services INC, has branched out from its lone veggie patch 16 years ago to the seven-acre farm that it is today, growing and supplying seedlings to local farmers and supplying seasonal produce to local cafes/restaurants all thanks to the program’s participants.

“The main thing for these guys (participants) is the social side of The Paddock, and the sense of engaging in activities that are outcome driven,” The Paddock’s manager Chris Evans said.

“When the NDIS was first rolled out, all of its plans are individual-based, but what isn’t measured is that; at The Paddock activities foster peer groups to come together, and many people here develop lifelong friendships.”

Chris said The Paddock also has a big focus on community engagement and provides an opportunity for local businesses and residents to see what people living with disabilities are capable of rather than what’s not possible.

“With a lot of our participants coming in from the surrounding communities, it’s good that the local community itself sees that people of all abilities can come together and do things that you don’t really see anywhere else,” Chris said.

“One of the biggest things to note is that we still don’t see people with a disability employed, there’s a lot of work still to be done in that space.”

Participants learn countless skills and abilities such as general garden maintenance, cutting the grass, removing invasive weeds, planting seasonal vegetables and aromatic plants like basil, tomato, cucumber, and growing ornamental plants in The Paddock’s nursery.

The Paddock also offers skill development activities in its woodwork shed and certified kitchen.

The past two years have been a struggle for The Paddock, however, the farm has kept its doors open during a time rife with isolation, especially for people living with a disability.

The Paddock’s coordinator Steve Hanan said COVID-19 has been the biggest recent challenge for the farm but coming out of lockdown has yielded some benefits, like the new coffee shop which is open for customers five days a week from 9am to 3pm.

“The pandemic took away the majority of our activities that required people and contact,” Mr Hanan said.

“We still had our essential workers and participants here during lockdowns who had nowhere else to go at the time, but now everything seems to be tracking back to normal and we’re excited for the future.

“Looking back, perhaps the biggest takeaway from the past two years is that there is more of an awareness of gardening and people want to learn more about food which we can help with.”

The Paddock currently receives help from 60 participants and 30 staff employees.