THE SECRET GARDEN

The Secret Garden at Richmond is not the secret it used to be. Open from Monday to Saturday, The Secret Garden is a not-for-profit ‘Community Hub’ managed by North West Disability Services (NWDS). There are gardens, a nursery, café and animals on site at the Western Sydney University campus on Clydesdale Lane, Richmond.

The Secret Garden & Nursery is always keen to recruit new volunteers with special skills (or just a can-do attitude). Whether you can give one hour or one week, or whether you are 15 or 105, we value your skills and appreciate all help from community members.

The Secret Garden would not survive without the help of our wonderful volunteers as we need many hands and plenty of inspiration to make our garden flourish.

Marilyn Hicks said she never knew where The Secret Garden was until she dropped into the old Richmond site a few years ago to buy plants.

After retiring from her job in aged-care she decided to volunteer at the garden where she can be found on Thursdays and Saturdays.

“It is so serene and peaceful and they are a lovely lot of people to work with,” she said.

One of her main jobs is feeding the animals and making sure they have water.

“Zac and Simpson the two donkeys are just beautiful,” she said.

Volunteers of all ages, backgrounds and abilities are most welcome. At the moment, there are 20 volunteers at The Secret Garden and about 80 with NWDS. Volunteers range in age from 15 (High School students on the Duke of Edinburgh program) to 84.

We also encourage corporate volunteering programs which provide a wonderful opportunity for workplace teams to help their community by getting involved in a variety of projects at the garden. Some volunteers in the plant propagating program have been involved for around 13 years.

Volunteer hours are flexible. There is a one hour induction course and all volunteers need a Police Check and Working with Children Check before commencing work.

To enquire about becoming a Secret Garden volunteer, call 0414 784 460 or email Kcarne@ nwds.org.au or drop into the garden and speak to one of our friendly staff.

We are located on Clydesdale Lane, on the campus of the Western Sydney University, Richmond. Enter via Londonderry Road. We are open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 4pm

PROJECT AREAS

There are loads of activities to become involved with and you might like to join one of our teams working on specific projects including:

Back to the homepage