Digging for the community
A team from UNSW Procurement spent a morning getting their hands dirty as part of a community project.
Six staff members worked for a morning with Garden Care which is a community service provided by the Canterbury City Community Centre.
Supported by volunteers Garden Care creates low maintenance gardens for the elderly and for those with disabilities, which helps them to continue living in their own home.
UNSW Procurement became involved after Procurement Director Claudia Teal asked staff for ideas on how to give back to the community.
She said: “I wanted to encourage the team to leave the office and go into the fresh air to get to know each other better. It was also important to do something for the community.
“We are a very visible part of the community and it is important for the University to give back.”
Procurement Manager Alison Sida suggested Garden Care as the team building activity as she has volunteered with the group for around a year.
The team arrived at 9.30am on a Wednesday and was briefed by the Garden Care supervisors who included a horticulturalist and an expert in bush regeneration.
Alison Sida said: “It was a bit of a jungle garden and so we had to do a lot of work on the weeds. The lady who lived there was elderly and the garden had become too much for her.”
With support from the experts the team cut seed heads in plastic bags to avoid them spreading and newspaper was soaked to lay on top of weeds and mulch laid on top to kill more weeds.
Alison said: “It was a great day. It was good to do something outside work together and also to help someone.”
Claudia agreed: “It was a beautiful day and was a great first challenge. There was something for beginners and for those more experienced. Everyone got stuck in and worked like Trojans and no-one talked about work!”
Alison said: “We were informed that the resident was very happy with the result and told organisers it had brought her peace of mind.”
Procurement have committed to supporting Garden Care for one morning each quarter for the rest of the year.
Six staff members worked for a morning with Garden Care which is a community service provided by the Canterbury City Community Centre.
Supported by volunteers Garden Care creates low maintenance gardens for the elderly and for those with disabilities, which helps them to continue living in their own home.
UNSW Procurement became involved after Procurement Director Claudia Teal asked staff for ideas on how to give back to the community.
She said: “I wanted to encourage the team to leave the office and go into the fresh air to get to know each other better. It was also important to do something for the community.
“We are a very visible part of the community and it is important for the University to give back.”
Procurement Manager Alison Sida suggested Garden Care as the team building activity as she has volunteered with the group for around a year.
The team arrived at 9.30am on a Wednesday and was briefed by the Garden Care supervisors who included a horticulturalist and an expert in bush regeneration.
Alison Sida said: “It was a bit of a jungle garden and so we had to do a lot of work on the weeds. The lady who lived there was elderly and the garden had become too much for her.”
With support from the experts the team cut seed heads in plastic bags to avoid them spreading and newspaper was soaked to lay on top of weeds and mulch laid on top to kill more weeds.
Alison said: “It was a great day. It was good to do something outside work together and also to help someone.”
Claudia agreed: “It was a beautiful day and was a great first challenge. There was something for beginners and for those more experienced. Everyone got stuck in and worked like Trojans and no-one talked about work!”
Alison said: “We were informed that the resident was very happy with the result and told organisers it had brought her peace of mind.”
Procurement have committed to supporting Garden Care for one morning each quarter for the rest of the year.
