May 23 2013. |
The Rotary Club of Seaford president, Paul Vaesen, recently received an e-mail from Katie Hoff on behalf of the Seaford Community Garden:
"As a result of the very generous support of the Rotary Club in 2012, Seaford Community Garden has been able to improve the wheelchair access to the gardens by paving all the pathways. This has proved to be enormously valuable, not just for wheelchair users, but also for many of our older visitors and parents with buggies.
At present we have a single raised bed which is wheelchair accessible. Unfortunately this can only be accessed from one side and even then, any user blocks the pathway for other gardeners. We have discussed the problem with wheelchair users and as a result we have devised a plan to build a new bed with a wide U-shaped access point. This would allow more individuals to garden at any one time without obstructing the movement of others. Furthermore, we propose to build a removable tabletop-workbench so that any gardener with disabilities could have their tools/plants or whatever they needed in front of them, at bed level, while working.
As you know we are constantly up-dating the garden and improving it, where possible, so that more people can enjoy the benefits of gardening. Having a second raised bed would allow us to offer more opportunities to a wider range of individuals - not just to wheelchair users, but also those with a whole variety of physical problems which make bending difficult. We believe that gardening is a hugely therapeutic activity both mentally and physically and the positive experience reported by volunteers appears to confirm this fact.
We estimate that the total cost of the materials for this project will be £250 for timber, screws, brackets etc. Any contribution to this sum would be hugely welcome and allow us to continue to offer the people of Seaford, whatever their age, experience or level of ability the opportunity to work on something positive for their community and the chance to learn new skills." The Club decided to meet the cost of this new improvement to the garden, and on Wednesday the 15th of May, Paul Vaesen "helped" with the construction of the new bed.
Pictured above: President Paul Vaesen with James Posgate of the Seaford Community Garden.