That’s only one goal behind the burgeoning vegetable garden at Best Tree Tenders.

Last Friday, the gardening crew from Connections arrived to join staff from Tree Tenders and Best Employment to launch the summer planting at Best Food Garden.

Vegetables planted were green apple cucumbers and Big Beef tomatoes. The garden will also produce corn, zucchini, onions, beans and rockmelons.  

Tree Tenders production manager Danny Middleton explained how the garden happened: “How this came about-we partnered with Connections disability service and…we constructed some raised garden beds for them. The clients came in and they learned how to propagate vegetables from seeds, they then would come in and watch the seeds grow and then go convert them out into their gardens. Come and tend the gardens and the harvest and thought it was absolutely great just to be able to take them and (say) ‘Look what I grew’ to mum and dad.”

“We thought-we did that well. Let’s go bigger.” 

“So we created a garden the size of a football field out there.” 

Following the same plan, Connections clients come on site to help make the garden grow. 

“When it comes to harvest time, they actually go deliver the vegetables to the elderly and the disadvantaged community at no cost. Not only that, too, the elderly have some one to talk to,” Danny said.

Because the project was conceived late last spring, Danny said they could only utilise a third of the designated plot. This year, they have the entire garden ready for the summer plantings.

“Last summer…we were able to supply…50 disadvantaged households in Inverell, every week for about five months,” Danny said.

With this year’s scale and staggering plantings means they should feed those households for the entire summer.

The garden, funded entirely by Best Employment, also serves as a training ground for individuals who participate in the Work for the Dole program, work-experience trainees and Inverell High School special-needs students.

“This is a fantastic activity ‘cause it has a fantastic social outcome,” Danny said.

Best Employment’s CEO Penny Alliston-Hall feels this project doesn’t only benefit those who receive the vegetables, but reaches into the community to make it stronger. “It’s just been a fabulous initiative in bringing Connections clients with a disability and Best Employment workers and Best Tree Tenders workers together and really cooperating. It’s a matter of integration…and it’s something of meaning to everyone.”

Mike Sanders, a Connections client enjoys coming out to garden. “I get to see Danny, and stuff they do here, which I’m really thankful for.”

Jordan Wilson is another client of Connections. “I like to come up here every now and again and help with the community. I like helping deliver stuff to the community as well,” Jordan said.

Robbie Duff is the service manager of Connections. She said the project is invaluable. 

“From our perspective, with disabilities…our wheelbarrow that we push is…getting people to accept people with disabilities, because they’re part of the community and I think this is a really good stepping in making that happen.

“It’s about inclusion, being part of the community. 

“Seeing it grow from the seed to the finished product and collecting and delivering it … and … the thank you’s from a lot of the people they deliver to is just gorgeous.”

Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall visited the garden last Friday. 

He said a project like the garden is beneficial for allowing new opportunities and “getting everyone involved…getting people outdoors, meeting other people, the whole community aspect is what I find really attractive.”

Mr Marshall hopes he can help obtain funding for the garden to install a cool room to store some of the produce, to keep it a little bit longer, which he said would only value-add to what’s been started.