Mambourin Sensory Garden - Empowering People with Disabilities

In the previous post on the veggie swap, i had too many photo's of the garden to do them justice.  So I'm doing this add-on post to show you the Mambourin Sensory Garden in Werribee.

Over three years a small group of people with disabilities converted a vacant block of almost two acres into a garden paradise for the whole community to enjoy.

Mambourin Sensory Garden showcases drought resistant plants. The garden provides a tranquil setting to sit and reflect, soak in the sweet fragrance that permeates through the garden or watch the ducks as the paddle through the pond.


This pond was packed with little fish and no doubt somewhere in there, some bigger ones. 

 This garden is open to the public free of charge. Enjoy a picnic and some time out or be inspired to create your own garden at home with plants from the Nursery. Revenue generated provides ongoing employment for people with a disability.

The Mambourin Sensory Garden features:

• large sunken herb garden surrounded by climbing roses
• large pond lined with dozens of water lilies and a range of other aquatic plants
• smaller pond feeding a stream meandering through the garden
• eight metre rotunda
• lawn, picnic area and barbecue

Today the were dressing the rotunda for a wedding party which i imagine on a day like today would have been beautiful.  There are certainly alot of places for photographs to be taken. 

The sunken garden had just been cleared the previous week and so only the brick framework was their to look at but it is a gardeners dream. 

At first i thought this was just a stand alone garden but when i started researching its history i found it was part of a much larger organisation doing great works for people with disabilities.

http://www.mambourin.org/

Mambourin promotes independent living by offering employment, education and training services to adults with a disability. Mambourin’s slogan is “Empowering People”® which drives all that they do.



Mambourin Altona was purposely constructed for people with disabilities by the Victorian Department of Human Services. The building offers an aesthetically pleasing and user friendly environment.



At Mambourin they strive to:

• help people with disabilities to be valued and become valuable members of our community by creating opportunities for regular employment, to achieve a more independent future, and to enhance their self-esteem;
• make substantial and on-going investment in the professional development of our staff to ensure that we have the best and brightest in the sector, and;
• support families through respite and planning processes to ensure that their needs are also being met and they feel supported.

  

  The lady in this picture is our current Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.  She is our local member of parliament so she often pops up at events and openings. 

  

This post started being about a garden that made me feel good.  Now its ended up being a post about a wonderful organisation that provides an enhanced quality of life for those special people in our community with disabilities.   Its been a day of discovery and joy.   

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