Multi-age friendships bloom in garden
A gardening initiative between an aged care home and neighbouring college in Queensland’s Buderim has seen relationships between the residents and students blossom.
An intergenerational gardening program between not-for-profit aged care and community services provider Lutheran Services’ Immanuel Gardens Aged Care at Buderim and the neighbouring Immanuel Lutheran College has broken down the barriers of age differences in the Queensland town.
For the past two years, students and aged care residents have been meeting weekly to work on the aged care garden together, building no-dig garden beds and planting seasonal flowers and vegetables whilst having an opportunity to connect.
The program is part of The Growing Together: A Garden for Generations initiative, which Immanuel Gardens aged care creative lifestyle co-ordinator Bhrett Baker said aimed to foster intergenerational interactions and build a bridge between the two cohorts.
Ms Baker said the relationships with the students – whose ages range from nine to 17 – and residents, who are aged up to 97 – had blossomed into something special.
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, said Ms Baker, and the program has been invited to partner with the Queensland University of Technology to support its GrandSchools research project – which is a National Health and Medical Research Council study examining intergenerational activities.
Lutheran Services is proud to partner in the study, Ms Baker added, which will see researchers from five universities visit Immanual Gardens to observe how the students and older adults interact and learn together.
Insights from the research will inform the planning and design of future shared intergenerational living and learning communities.
Immanuel Lutheran College sustainability officer Emily Boyd said the response from students to the program had been overwhelming, with students building empathy, communication skills and a deeper appreciation for older generations.
“At the heart of this program is something really simple: care for the earth, and care for each other. When students and residents garden side-by-side, they’re not just planting seeds in the soil – they’re planting connection, trust, and hope,’’ Ms Boyd said.
“We launched the program two years ago to foster intergenerational interactions and build a bridge between our aged care residents and students at the neighbouring college,’’ Ms Baker said.
“The weekly visits are highly anticipated by residents of Immanuel Gardens for the genuine moments of joy that come from the opportunity to share their garden knowledge with their new young friends,” she added.
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