A quiet oasis in the back streets of Canberra is the setting for Mulch, a working urban farm providing rewarding activities for people with disabilities and fresh produce for discerning foodies across the national capital.
The social enterprise in Stirling has been run by Marymead since 2013 as a provider of the the National Disability Insurance Scheme in the ACT. It moved to its current site - a former footy field behind the Hedley Beare Centre for Teaching and Learning - in 2018.
After a lot of hard work, the site now features extensive well-mulched garden beds, a chook house, several greenhouses, a mulching/compost facility, a tool shed, fruit trees and an enclosed patio area where participants can enjoy their lunch or a nice cup of tea. .
And Canberrans can see it all in action on Friday at Mulch's annual plant sale and open day from 2pm to 7pm.
The aptly named Helen Gardner, who manages Marymead's skills development and community engagement programs, says Mulch is all about supporting participants to develop practical and social skills and engage with the broader community through the lens of a horticulture enterprise.
"It's not about paid employment or making money, it's about productive and healthy activity in the great outdoors and celebrating our shared love of gardening - it just speaks to people," she said.
"Our participants engage in the whole seed-to-sale process, including composting and green waste recycling so we actually produce the soil that the plants are grown in. And when they sell their produce, they're just so incredibly proud."
Mulch operates Monday to Friday all year round and produces organic veggies, fresh eggs, herbs, seedlings and some fruit as well as mountains of mulch.
Produce is sold to customers working at ACT Education's Hedley Beare Centre, via Mulch's Facebook page and occasionally at Saturday's Capital Region Farmers Markets at Exhibition Park.
"Our participants are all on the NDIS and are men and women mostly aged in their 20s and 30s," Helen said.
"They include people with physical and intellectual disabilities and, depending on the support needs of participants on any given day, we can have anywhere from four to nine participants working away at any one time. And when I say work, it really is work - before they come here each day the participants get dressed in high-vis gear, they have to wear long sleeves, long pants and hats, put on sunscreen, just like any typical outside workplace."
Ronnie Lawrence, 31, is among the experienced old hands in the program, having enrolled when Mulch first opened its doors seven years ago.
His mother Mirinda says her son "just loves it, it's the only thing he really enjoys and the most consistent program he's had since he left school - it's absolutely marvellous".
Ronnie has a moderate intellectual disability, severe epilepsy and is largely non-verbal. When at Mulch he needs one-on-one support which is funded out of his NDIS plan.
"He had no real interest in gardening previously but Mulch has worked with him so consistently, they know him very well and Ronnie functions much better when he knows people, so they can stretch him," Mirinda said.
"Every day is different which keeps him interested - one day he might be planting, another day he might be constructing something with power tools, which he loves most of all.
"He also gets involved in things like cooking with the produce and getting it ready for sale with labelling. So it's not just gardening, Mulch builds social inclusion and community connection."
Jesse Hawley-Walker, 30, has been a "mulcher" since 2015. He has autism, a moderate intellectual disability and epilepsy, and lives with his mother Lynnette.
"We tried a few things for Jesse after he left school but nothing really worked for him," Lynnette said. "Before the NDIS came in he had limited supports but as soon as he got his first NDIS plan in 2015, suddenly he had choices.
"A friend suggested Mulch and from the start he fitted in so well - the program has literally grown him from being a school leaver to a young man. It's allowed him to build his sense of self-worth and he is so proud of his work, he enjoys sharing what he grows with family and friends and now has his own garden bed at home where he grows veggies and herbs.
"Most of all he loves the chooks. He feeds them, cleans out the coop, and they love him too - he often eats his lunch in the coop and they run to him as soon as he comes in."
- The Mulch open day is on Friday 2pm - 7pm at 51 Fremantle Drive, Stirling.
