Garden Blitz Unites Caring Green Thumbs

Local resident group Willagee Alive received a grant from the City for the group’s Community Care Project, which aims to help Willagee residents care for their gardens or local parks. Project Coordinator Brenda Pittman said the project aimed to help everyone remember that being part of a community meant looking out for each other and knowing your neighbours.

City of Melville Neighbourhood Development Officer Dee Skuza said the project – to include tidying up school grounds and the entrance to Willagee at the Southern Districts Seniors Citizens Centre – also encouraged shared community action in Willagee and increased pride and security in the neighbourhood.

“Willagee Alive received a request from the neighbours of an elderly resident, Mrs Denise Minnett, who was having difficulty maintaining her once lovely garden. Since her husband passed away, she had not been able to care for it. But with donations from local businesses and funds from the City of Melville Community Grant Funds, her home was transformed,” she said.

“The Garden Blitz was a wonderful community event. There was a real community feel on the day as neighbours not only helped with the gardening but also put on a sausage sizzle and afternoon tea. Mrs Minnett is now happy to sit in her garden, which her son will be helping her maintain,” she said.

Mayor Russell Aubrey commended the work of Willagee Alive and everyone who had contributed to making this event a success. “It is wonderful to see that true community spirit is alive and well in the City of Melville. We are happy to support groups such as Willagee Alive, as well as seniors. The City is in fact one of only two Australian cities to have taken part in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Age-Friendly Cities project. From this, we have developed our own Age-Friendly Melville Strategy: Directions For Seniors and are currently in the process of implementing aspects of this,” he said.