Growing home with YTAP Garden

For many young residents staying with HOPE as part of the Youth Transition Accommodation Program (YTAP), being far from home can be a distressing experience.

To combat this, HOPE’s Youth Support Mentor Chevy Hansen and Access and Inclusion Officer Tess Lau took it upon themselves to plant an outdoor space full of native flowers and plants to remind young residents of their connection to Country.

For Aboriginal people, connection to Country is spiritually and culturally significant, and distance and time away from Country can negatively affect their social and emotional wellbeing.

With many of the young residents based at the YTAP expecting to be away from home for long stretches of time, the YTAP garden was created with the goal of minimising homesickness, promoting wellbeing and supporting residents to maintain a sense of connection to Country.

Reflecting the regions

The initial mapping of the garden’s ‘zones’ was completed by some of the young people who needed to complete community service hours as part of their youth justice program. This allowed them to see their hard work pay off as each phase progressed.

The garden now has different zones to represent different regions of Western Australia, with each zone containing designs that reflect the colours and textures of the specific region.

The team also worked closely with horticulturalist Ann Baird, who specializes in native plants. She provided valuable insights around buying the correct plants, selecting areas for planting and ensuring the soils would allow the plants to thrive in their new home.

The garden has become a place where, no matter where they are from, young residents can take some time and sit in a space that reflects their Country.

Whether its sitting on white beach sand or rich red earth, there’s reminders of home to be found.

Each region is separated by pathways referencing traditional art, all leading to a firepit yarning circle at the heart.

Overall, the space was designed to complement the YTAP house, and to create a flow from the calm green shades of the house’s interior through to the outdoor space.

“This helps with those who have sensory issues or who may be easily overwhelmed,” Tess explained. “We also put some bark, dried leaves and flowers, and seed pods in the house.”

A sense of home

According to other team members, when young residents spend time in the garden with things from home they could see, touch, feel, and smell, it helps them to feel reconnected and more at ease.

“Some kids sit in the yard and do art. It’s nice to create a sense of ‘home’ for them,” says Tess.

The development of the Garden helped to reduce the effects of being off Country and promoted wellbeing and mindfulness for residents.

It is due to the dedication and care of our team, in this case Chevy and Tess, whose hard work has led to the creation of such a beautiful space. We hope the garden continues to provide connection and comfort to all its visitors.