Jordans Crossing Gazette

Think of an orchestra of perfume, flowers, fruit and colour and you are getting close to understanding the impact and power of the new sensory garden officially opened at Warrigal in October. Brought to life by the Warrigal Bundanoon Ladies Auxiliary and the team at Warrigal, the garden project has been a wonderful example of a partnership designed to bring calm and colour to the lives of residents as well as their family and friends at the Bundanoon home. “The sensory garden was designed by members of the Auxiliary who had careers in horticulture. How lucky Warrigal is to have such expertise help guide the formation of such a rich and colourful display of plant life”, said Warrigal CEO, Mark Sewell. “Not only that, but it provides such a calming and relaxing space that can now be enjoyed by anyone visiting the home”, Mark said. What is kindness? The quality of being friendly, generous and considerate. What is the ripple effect of kindness? Thoughts and actions are like stones dropped into still waters. They create ripples that spread and expand as they move outwards. Everything we do and think affects the people in our lives. We call this ‘The Ripple Effect’. Your ripple starts with you, spreads to your family, friends, school, our community, sports teams and the world. The impact you have on the world is greater than you can imagine. Think of the effect a growing ripple of kindness could have on our community. The theme for the 2017 Annual School Concert concert was The Ripple Effect of Kindness. Each class performed an item, based on a ripple, to highlight how we can spread kindness and keep the ripple going. The students and staff of Bundanoon Public School have made a commitment to keep the Ripple of Kindness, created in our school concert, spreading throughout our school community. Random acts of kindness are acknowledged and valued daily in our morning meetings. There are a number of Kindness Stations throughout the school where students, staff and parents can nominate someone who has shown kindness towards others. Some examples of acts of kindness recognised by students are: • Thank you for coming to the Friendship Tree to see if I was ok The ripple effect of kindness school • Thank you for kindly letting me borrow one of your markers • Thank you for including me in your game at lunchtime Ladies Auxiliary President and one of the horticulturalists who designed the garden, Wendy Johnston, said it’s been a wonderful volunteer effort from everyone involved. “Every element of the garden from the flowers to the seating has been thought out and chosen to provide a sensory experience for anyone coming to enjoy the garden”, Wendy said. “We’ve used plants that would remind people of their childhoods, which is an important aspect of the garden especially for those who are experiencing memory loss. It gives a chance to bring back some of the pleasure of a garden to those living here. “For example we’ve used lavender to provide a familiar scent and we’ve also chosen roses without thorns to encourage the residents to feel them and experience their texture. “We’ve gone with different textures all the way through the garden to engage the senses in every way, for example our citrus trees bring flowers, fruit, perfume and taste into the courtyard”, said Wendy. See Warrigal’s Facebook page for a walk through of the garden: @ WarrigalCommunities Warrigal Bundanoon opens new sensory garden (L-R): Vernia Blundell (Warrigal Bundanoon Manager), Wendy Johnston (Ladies Auxiliary President), Liz Moore (Auxiliary member) and her husband Rod Moore Bundanoon Public School explores December 2017 41 jcg www.bca.asn.au