A new greening project at an Adelaide apartment complex has brought young people together, both improving wellbeing and reducing the urban heat impact. The project has caught the eye of university researchers who are studying its outcomes with the goal of rolling the concept out across the country.
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00:00They could be that fat around and they're still spectacular to eat.
00:06Gathering in their communal car park, these young residents have come together to learn
00:10the art of creating a thriving garden.
00:13We're going to kick off now and start to get your cans a bit dirty.
00:16The apartment complex is run by Anglicare in Adelaide's inner southwest.
00:21It provides accommodation for young people at risk of homelessness after spending time
00:26in state care.
00:28In return for a small portion of their income, young people aged 18 to 25 are supported to
00:34live independently, with access to staff who can assist with managing household tasks like
00:39paying bills and cooking.
00:41I think it's so important for every young person to have people in their world that
00:46care about them and support them.
00:48You could just plant that as a whole thing.
00:50For young couple Hayley and Xander, it's been life changing.
00:53I was a DCP kid, my mum and dad obviously weren't the greatest and my foster mum when
00:58I turned 16, COVID was happening, she wasn't super chill with the disease spreading around
01:04so at 16 I moved out.
01:06I was living in a caravan in somebody else's driveway, I was not in the best situation.
01:12It's quite an opportunity to be here.
01:15They've been living in the complex for a year and a half and say without it, they would
01:19have been forced to live on the streets.
01:21But now they have new opportunities, including planting their new garden.
01:26Having something self-sufficient down here that we can all contribute towards is really
01:30nice and it gets all of us together as a community I feel.
01:33We started to have conversations with them around what they would like their space to
01:36look like and one of the things that we just kept hearing over and over again was a green
01:40space, we just need a green space.
01:43The impact it's having is something researchers are hoping to quantify.
01:47A team from the University of Adelaide is looking at the project, examining the urban
01:51heat map effect and measuring the uplift in the residents' wellbeing.
01:56Think projects like this and tell people you can have an impact and you can make a cooler
02:01space in your home.
02:03The research that we do have to date suggests that there is that connection between caring
02:07for others, caring for the environment and that own self-care that we do for ourselves.
02:13This garden is still very much in its infancy, but there are plans to add climbing and sprawling
02:18vegetables, a yarning circle with native bush tucker plants, hedges and colourful flowers.
02:25And the researchers hope the success of this complex will pave the way for more investment
02:30in similar projects.
02:32For the community here, it's simply an opportunity to develop new skills and flourish.
02:37You see a lot of people that have come from the worst of the worst situations you couldn't
02:41imagine yourself in, and to see them in situations where they're providing for themselves, paying
02:47their rent, living comfortably, not falling to addiction or any hardship or anything like
02:52that that tends to plague these people, it really is inspirational.
02:56We just want to see young people thrive and have every opportunity they can.
03:01Nurturing new skills for a new life.