The SpringDale Messenger
Monday, 6th April 2020
Coordinator's News -
Dear Friends and friends I am yet to meet. When I planted some herbs in a basket a few weeks ago, I did not guess where that action would or could lead. We couldn’t have guessed that SpringDale would become awash with baskets, that our back yard would become the maternity suite for thousands of seedlings and cuttings, and that so many people would pop up to help in so many ways. As I write this we are still to deliver our baskets of herbs to Bruthen and surrounds but the project seems to be coming together and by the time you read this we will have just delivered the herb baskets, that’s the plan at the moment anyway. We have been approached by other groups who are growing seedlings for East Gippsland and we plan to help take those seedlings to Heyfield Community Resource Centre to help with distribution. At the recent Neighbourhood House Annual Conference, I took our project to show what we are doing and encourage others to adopt another place or work with Heyfield as an agency helping to rebuild gardens in East Gippsland.
It’s been so rewarding to plant the seeds and watch the first leaves break through (the basil seeds only took a few days to break through) and then to keep the water up to theseedlings to encourage them to grow on. Egg cartons made it so easy to get the seedlingsstarted and the Drysdale Guides, who helped plant our first batch, did such a good job of putting 3 or 4 seeds in each cardboard egg cup – we then could place the egg cup of growing seeds into the basket, reducing risk to the seedling roots.
The first basket gave me such joy whenever I walked past it, a couple of conversations, a little bit of research, a successful pilot and Herbs to Help was created. Thank you to everyone who has supported this project and to my family who have helped to water, lift, carry, and put up with maneuvering around many tables and flat surfaces with seedlings on them. I don’t thank my family enough for all the support they give to every idea that we
come up with.Now it’s back to normal and try to catch up with everything that went on hold whilethe Herbs to Help project happily absorbed so much time and energy. But normal will be different, each time we have a learning experience, we are affected. Hopefully this makes us a little more entrepreneurial and ready to seek out an idea and follow it.Thank you again for your support and we’llbe able to report on the delivery of the baskets in the next Messenger. Please sign up for updates via our website or via phone text or phone calls so we can keep in touch if something pops up. The subscribe button is near the bottom of the website home page, email your phone details to [email protected] or ring 5253 1960.
Yours sincerely Anne Brackley for Team
SpringDale.
SpringDale Neighbourhood Centre values the health and safety of our participants, members, volunteers and staff. As we go to print we are adhering to the current COVID-19 requirements and ask people to practice good hygiene measures, social distancing and self-isolate if unwell and seek help. Please sign up for updates from our website www.springdale.org.au and please seek up to date information from the National Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080 or www.health.gov.au for the latest advice, information and resources.
*Read about the rest of the news in the SpringDale Messenger by clicking the link!
Source: SpringDale Neighbourhood Centre
