CLIVE Thew Memorial Garden at Macksville Hospital is a wonderful community project coming to life thanks to the efforts of numerous Nambucca Valley locals.

From Nambucca High School students, to Shoretrack, to Nambucca Valley Rotary to Macksville Hospital staff in particular Dr Danny Ryan, many have donned their gardening gloves, got the digger digging and have been planting and paving their way to a beautiful new garden in the hospital grounds.

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As it grows it will be enjoyed by patients and visitors.

The project has been masterfully managed by Nambucca Valley Rotary, but it all began with the bequest of money in the will of local man, Clive Thew.

Anne Gillin, principal solicitor of Nambucca Valley Legal, executor of Mr Thew’s estate, told News Of The Area, “in his will, Mr Thew left a certain amount of money to be used at the discretion of myself for the benefit of Macksville Hospital.

“My husband, Dr Danny Ryan, works at the hospital and after some consultation with staff, we decided that the money would be best used to plant a garden.

“The idea developed, to create a place for staff and visitors to relax, contemplate, or just have a break at lunch time, the physiotherapists could use the path for exercise for patients, patients could be wheeled in wheelchairs or even in their beds, into the garden, children could play and ride their trikes and bikes along the path, and pets could come to see their sick owners,” said Anne.

Mr Thew did not have a large estate, but Anne and Danny contacted Rotary, who in turn contacted Shoretrack, a program in the Nambucca Valley that supports disadvantaged teens getting back into school and the workforce.

Along with the goodwill of a retired landscape gardener, local tradies, suppliers and Shoretrack, the bequeathed dollars have stretched much beyond the budget.

Anne is heart-warmed by watching so many local people playing a part in developing the garden from an idea into reality.

“We still have some funds up our sleeve to complete the project but no ongoing funding for future maintenance.”

This is where Nambucca Valley Rotary is rallying the troops and has launched a call-out seeking volunteers for gardening duties – watering plants, weeding, top dressing lawns and pruning.

“Nambucca Valley Rotary is seeking a group of garden enthusiasts to water and weed the existing plants, then continue to improve and maintain the area for the hospital patients, and visitors to enjoy,” Dave Banks from Nambucca Valley Rotary told NOTA.

“The outdoor area has plenty of room for children’s play equipment, and we encourage retired tradesmen to come along with their skills to make or build various interesting games or toys for kids to play with,” he said.

“We also need to create some interesting seating throughout the area.”

So far, they have built a large chess board, 4m x 4m, and now they need chess and draughts pieces.

“If anyone can help with obtaining or making them, that would be great,” he said.

Phone Dave Banks 0418 937 946 to discuss how to participate in the Clive Thew Memorial Garden project, or to become a Rotarian and find out how Rotary can help with your local or humanitarian community project.

By Andrea FERRARI