OUT & ABOUT
Kellyville Village and ISPT award The Hills Men ’ s Shed $ 10,000 through the 2024 ISPT Community Kickstart Grant program
Kellyville Village , owned by ISPT , has awarded $ 10,000 in funding to The Hills Men ’ s Shed to support them in continuing to make a positive impact within the Kellyville community . Local groups play such a vital role in supporting and enriching the lives of their local communities and the Community Kickstart Grant program aims to amplify these efforts by providing financial funding and support to help sustain and expand their projects and services .
Men ’ s Sheds are community spaces for men to connect , converse and create . The Hills Men ’ s Shed helps reduce loneliness and isolation , aims to promote social inclusion , health and welfare of older men , and provides community members with a space to meet , learn , connect and find support .
Through the Community Kickstart Grant , The Hills Men ’ s Shed will produce children ’ s activity boards and play equipment for Hills Shire preschools .
Kellyville Village Centre Manager , Viv Varma thanks each of the groups who applied for the grant .
“ There are so many fantastic and worthy local organisations within our community and Kellyville Village is very proud to provide grant opportunities to assist these groups to continue their wonderful and vital work .” he said .
“ We believe that The Hills Men ’ s Shed will use this grant to develop meaningful change , whilst assisting in delivering more projects and initiatives locally thereby making Kellyville an even better place to live .
“ Kellyville Village recognises the hard work , care and time that goes on behind the scenes of community groups and organisations to keep our community united , so we are very pleased to be able to offer these grants .”
Each application was assessed against a criterion including commitment and investment into the local community , demonstration of innovation and solutions that benefit the local community and the cultivation of a shared future .
For more information and to find out more about how ISPT is committed to creating better futures and enriching our communities please visit https :// ispt . net . au / ( L-R ) Jack Cherchian , Lisa Seltzer , Dave McKeough and Scott Richards .
HIDDEN IN THE HILLS
HIDDEN IN THE HILLS Kunzeas by Lachlan Turner
If you are walking along one of the many tracks in our bushland reserves between October and December you may chance across a kunzea ambigua ( tick bush ). This bush is fairly common , particularly in open scrubby woodland and heath with sandy soils . It is one of the first to regrow after its habitat has been disturbed by clearing .
In ideal conditions this bush , which may grow to three metres tall , can be covered with a prolific crop of delicate white flowers with exceptionally long stamens which conceal the petals . These flowers provide a welcome source of nectar for all sorts of insects . When taking the time to look into the bush it is possible to observe some of the insects that prefer to live in its vicinity .
This particular species is sometimes used in gardens , especially those featuring a variety of native plants . When kept compact by pruning it presents well as a seasonal specimen plant .
Growing in a similar habitat is the less common kunzea capitata , or pink kunzea . This smaller variety may grow to around 1.5 metres high , and will be in flower from September to October .
The deep pink flowers have small white pin head size globular dots at the ends of the stamens . Several flowers are clustered together towards the ends of branches which have a distinctive reddish-brown colouration .
This shrub is usually more compact than its relative , and can be grown as an ornamental specimen in a native garden as well .
26 ISSUE 114 // DECEMBER 2024 MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY HOLIDAYS ! theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HILLS INDEPENDENT