In April 2014 I started going along to the Gardening Therapy group run by Cath Manuel and Jan Gorman every Wednesday at Noosa Community Support. I was looking for an opportunity to meet new people and to see if gardening was something I would enjoy.
In the past I haven’t really done any gardening, I didn’t think I could participate much because I am in a wheelchair and I didn’t have any knowledge about gardening and growing plants and vegetables.
On the first day I soon realised that I could definitely do gardening! My wheelchair was no barrier to 
what I could do as Cath makes the program accessible for all abilities, exploring and coming up with practical solutions for me to be involved with the program as much as possible.
Over the last few years I have been going to the group some of the activities I’ve done include:
- making my own little garden using a polystyrene box
- planting seeds and seedlings
- learning about what my garden needs to grow
- craft activities using dried flowers and plants
- harvesting fresh vegetables and herbs to make lunch
I have enjoyed gardening so much that it’s become my new hobby. I decided to start my own garden bed at home and my family helped me to put it all together. I’ve planted vegetables and flowers and I love seeing my plants grow bigger and stronger every day. I can’t wait to be able to eat and share the things I have grown!
What I love about gardening group is learning new things all the time and having help to figure out ways that I can be actively involved with gardening jobs. Seeing the progress that we have made with our gardens makes me feel like I’ve achieved something really great!
It is a very relaxing experience every Wednesday that I truly enjoy, I don’t ever like to miss a day of gardening group. I have made lots of new friends and meeting the amazing and beautiful girls, Cath and Jan, has been such a positive influence to my life.
Happy gardening everyone! From Rachael ♥© cath manuel 26 august 2016
