BEHIND the Shannon\u2019s Bridge End of Life Care Hub in Creswick is a backyard full of potential.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s set to become a sensory garden to service the palliative care charity\u2019s current and former clients needing emotional support, and a safe, pleasant, non-medical escape… If only for a moment.<\/p>\n
Director, Dr Claire Hepper said the initiative is community led.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we started operating out of here, to help upskill the community to care for their own, they said, \u2018why don\u2019t we have a sensory garden? We would like that\u2019,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be a reflective space, focusing on care of the carer, and also grief and bereavement. Sometimes people need somewhere they can just sit and be.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur main proviso is that it\u2019s wheelchair accessible and safe in a sensory way for people of all abilities and cognitions. It\u2019s a place where death literacy can be promoted and not shut down.\u201d<\/p>\n
To start, Shannon\u2019s Bridge has been given mosaic pots, park benches, a wheelchair accessible garden bed and a fountain from the old Bethlehem Hospital site in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
Haymes is offering as much paint as the area needs, builders have volunteered, a local artist is keen to create a wind sculpture, a couple of families have covered electrical costs, and a pizza oven has been donated.<\/p>\n
The basics, like timber for raised garden beds, compacted mulch for paths, and concrete are all needed too.<\/p>\n
Completely relying on help and donated resources to complete the outdoor project, Dr Hepper hopes the process will be an intergenerational collaboration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re taking everyone\u2019s ideas and trying to meld those together,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re inspired, talking to some local men\u2019s sheds about having other raised garden beds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got lovely connections with Creswick Primary School. They have projects where their year 6 children go and do community activities, so they could do gardening and paint some panels for the fences.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just the art of making the garden, it\u2019s about sharing skills,\u201d Dr Hepper said.<\/p>\n
Shannon\u2019s Bridge director and general manager, Jeremy McKnight said the sensory area will benefit people of all ages as another \u201call inclusive\u201d element of the End of Life Care Hub.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything we offer here is for free,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s all run 100 per cent by volunteers, and the more we can offer to take the pressure off a person, the better.\u201d<\/p>\n