Toowoomba

The residents at Seachange Toowoomba recently got together and had a magnificent Cent Sale at the resort’s Clubhouse. The lovely event was organised by Marilyn Schefe who has previously put on similar events successfully. She sourced around 150 prizes from the Toowoomba community. There was even a lucky door prize; an Air Fryer which was kindly donated by Betta Electrical, St George. It was a great community effort and Marilyn made sure all residents were included, each one tasked with their own job to help make the event a success.

The Clubhouse was buzzing with about 118 people in attendance. Guests paid an entry fee which gave them tickets to place along prizes of their choice and there was also a multi draw raffle for higher value prizes like the two family passes donated by the Darling Downs Zoo. The event managed to raised over $2000. The funds raised are in the hands of the HOAC who will decide which charities the money will be donated to.

The event also featured a lovely Afternoon tea which included delicious food, all donated by the residents. There were a lot of excited winners and everyone at the event had a great time and was happy to have contributed towards the worthy cause. The support the event got from the residents is a further testament of the community spirit we have at our Seachange resorts.

It may just be a lettuce to some, but to Yvonne Mallory growing produce in the Seachange Toowoomba community garden provides a way to share knowledge, recipes and start friendships. Coming from apartment life, Yvonne hasn’t had her own garden in over six years. Once she moved into Seachange she found joining the gardening club a source a great joy. “I used to love gardening out in the sun with all the fresh air and it feels great to get my hands dirty again, but my favourite part by far is seeing people enjoy the produce we grow,” she said.

The gardening club meets every Monday at the residential community garden, but is open for picking every day of the week. Many donate a gold coin for the produce they pick to maintain their fresh food source, and as the seasons change, so do the options available. “Currently we have a winter garden of broccoli, cauliflower, peas and more but it has been a learning experience for me as I am from North Queensland and actually had to ask the other gardeners ‘what about the frost?’,” she said.

Although the options in the garden change, one of Yvonne’s most cherished vegetables is the thriving silverbeet. “I particularly like the silverbeet as it is one of the first things planted in the garden,” she said. “Interestingly it has grown so large because no one has been picking the leaves for meals.” This led to Yvonne finding some tasty recipes to utilise the abundant leaves, and she has even made a recipe book that everyone can view in the club house. “It’s since become a hit amongst the residents, same as our Japanese turnips.”

“We found that there were many single people who would only be cooking for themselves, so we started cutting the pumpkins in quarters and cabbages in halves. This also made sure that everyone could get the fresh produce and the joy of a returned patron makes it so worthwhile.” Not only is the community garden growing a connection between the club members; all the residents who pick from the garden have the opportunity to try new foods and share recipes amongst themselves as well.

The next planned project is to grow citrus trees so limes, lemons and oranges can be shared. “One of our new residents had citrus trees on his previous property, so we plan to work with him to bring citrus to our community.” The sweet taste of success for all at Seachange Toowoomba.

Leisa Porter spent two years as community manager at Seachange Emerald Lakes but in November the call of family drew her back to her home city of Toowoomba. She took up the position of community manager at Seachange Toowoomba in November, joined by husband Rodger, as facilities manager, and Ziggy the (cavoodle) as site manager, she joked! “We originally come from Toowoomba and we made the move back here mainly for family and the love of the country feel,” Leisa said. “Two of our children, Nikohl and Kieran live in Toowoomba and Lauren lives not far away in Brisbane. Our four grandchildren also live here with two COVID babies, Flynn and Evi, born last year. “I also wanted to be closer to my parents, especially as my father fell ill last year.”

The couple transformed their lives a few years ago. Rodger had been a FIFO worker for many years and the couple decided it was time for a career change. They bought a caravan and both did a Certificate III in Tourism and went on to manage a residential and tourist resort on the Sunshine Coast for three years. “We had been apart for so long we decided we wanted to work together. It was pretty funny because I’d been working in admin since I was 15, and Rog was a mechanical engineer. So I worked in the office and he worked in the field,” Leisa said. “We complemented each other, and the arrangement proved to be quite successful.”

At Seachange Emerald Lakes they lived above the community centre and Leisa said had ‘a wonderful time’ getting involved with the community and running different activities. “Because I’m from Toowoomba, the flower city, I started the first Flower Fest there. What I found on the Gold Coast was it was all palm trees and greenery, but no flowers,” she said. “So I started the Flower Fest and it was a real highlight for me because it was during COVID and the residents had a lot of fun creating different things. It gave them a purpose and something to do. I’m pretty sure they bought out all the flowers in Bunnings. “Toowoomba is different to Emerald Lakes, which is a fully completed resort. The community here is still growing so I am actually working across sales and community management. “And because of Roger’s engineering skills, he’s enjoying watching it develop and liaising with different contractors on the site, and of course Ziggy is the site supervisor and goes to work with Rog every day.”

Leisa has big plans for community events at Seachange Toowoomba starting with a flower display to rival any in the city during the September Festival of Flowers. “I’m hoping to get the residents involved to do a display at the grand entrance at the front gates. I want people to drive past here and wonder what’s behind the gates. We may not pull it off this year, but it’s definitely on the cards.” She also plans to introduce yoga classes and “Guess who’s coming to dinner” with residents hosting dinner parties and guests they possibly don’t know attending. “No one knows where they are going for dinner or, if you are the host, who will be coming. It’s a great way to meet new people and get new residents mingling with the existing residents. It’s lovely that the residents can have conversations with people they might never have spoken to before and it’s a great community building exercise,” she said.

She has already organised a fashion parade with a designer who designs for the over 50s market and there’s plans for more. “There will definitely be a full calendar of events,” she said. “The community spirit here is high and, as we are still growing, it is only going to get stronger.”