We continue our series showcasing our 2026 AIIP Intergenerational Innovation and Contribution Program Award Finalists. This week we spoke with Claire Pearson and Bhrett Baker about Growing Together: A Garden for Generations – Immanuel Gardens Multigenerational Program
Claire and Bhrett highlight the program’s impact, share both the structured and unstructured moments, talk about the importance of strong connections with partners and outline what they’re planning next.
Can you tell us a little about the Growing Together program?
Bhrett: For over two years, groups of approximately 14 students, aged 10-16, have been visiting Immanuel Gardens after school to participate with residents in a range of gardening activities. Generally, we start off with a bit of an icebreaker, a few questions to discuss with each other if they don’t have other things to talk about. We also ask: “what do you want to achieve this term?”
This term some of the boys wanted a carnivorous garden, another wanted a rainbow garden, and the residents wanted new veggies into the veggie patch.
Lately we’ve really loved getting fresh produce from the garden and doing cooking tutorials. Recently at one of these tutorials, while the food was cooking, a student who is a musician pulled out her guitar and played Waltzing Matilda. It was so beautiful because the residents already have a drumming group and one plays the harmonica and so there was a little impromptu band practice going on.
There’s a lot of students that keep on coming back and they have a really strong relationship with the residents now. They’ll come and visit in the school holidays, or they’ve invited some of the residents to dance concerts and different things like that. It’s beautiful to see the relationships that have flourished.
Claire: We try to ensure that it’s a meaningful experience for all involved. They get to grow the garden together and see their contribution. I love having Emily being there with you, Brett, because she brings that kind of sustainability angle as well. [Emily is the Sustainability Officer at Immanuel Lutheran College].
Could you tell me how Growing Together started?
Bhrett: Well luckily Emily reached out to me. It was lovely because Emily said that when she first got the job, she knew there was an aged care facility next door, and she knew she wanted to get a composting program started at the aged care.
She remembers her grandma keeping all her scraps in the aged care home, wanting it to go to the compost, but there wasn’t one available. So she already had that in her head and then she managed to get my contact. Emily and I are a really good match; we get along really well and have very similar styles. So we started talking about it and that’s when we decided to get the intergenerational program going. And we managed to get a composting program started as well, which was great.
It was very lucky that Emily had that initiative because I had already started a few programs with the out-of-school-hours program, but at that stage the staffing, both at the after-school program and within aged care had some instabilities and we also had challenges with transport, as our residents had to visit over at the school, which was very hard for those who are less mobile.
Claire: It’s important to know what schools have on offer, to see if they’ve got opportunities that line up with intergenerational programs. Often it comes through their Certificate I or community‑volunteering requirements. And if it makes sense for both sides to connect, then we make the most of it.
Bhrett: It’s also about finding good contacts and it’s not always a teacher, because teachers sometimes don’t have much spare time to run these programs.
What have you observed in terms of benefits or impacts for students and older adults?
Bhrett: When it’s been a long holiday and the kids come back, you can instantly see the impact. The residents are so ecstatic about having the students on site again. It’s more awareness and more comfortable engaging with other people outside of their spheres. And developing more empathy and understanding. Yesterday it was raining, so we had to cancel going into the garden and we ended up just playing charades, which can be daunting, but it’s a very safe space for everyone to be a bit silly and support each other.
Claire: Our lifestyle teams really try to make things as inclusive as possible, but also to give people that sense of mastering something. Whether it’s watching the garden grow or hanging their art on the wall, it builds confidence. And now that they’re working and problem‑solving together, you can see that growing even more.
Bhrett: I think it’s also that the students are just so much more self‑aware than the residents were at that age. They’re so much more comfortable in themselves, and they’re able to support the residents too. One of our residents is very shy and gets quite upset that he can’t do what he used to. One day he apologised to the group for that, and one of the older students just stood up straight away and said, “You are welcome just as you are.”
What’s next for you both in terms of intergenerational practice?
Claire: We returned home from the conference really inspired. I’ve started sharing some ideas from the conference as we are keen to embed more consistently, with a clearer framework across our sites, so the programs feel more purposeful and sustainable. Right now, it’s a bit ad hoc in the way things come together, in terms of the school, the lifestyle coordinator and the teacher aligning.
We’re starting to look at how we evaluate the program, as we hope to have consistent intergenerational programming across more sites over the next 12–18 months. Watching Emily and Bhrett do it so reliably has been inspiring, especially when consistency is a barrier at some sites. It’s had real benefits, and that’s what we’re excited about.
Bhrett: It’s about finding contacts and allies within schools and other organisations; it was really interesting hearing about Men’s Shed and Playgroup at the conference. I’ve had technology sessions with the librarians at the school and things like that. We will keep on applying for grants to see if we can get anything else going. I would love it if we could somehow be going over every day for different programs.
A very big thank you to Bhrett and Claire for their time and for sharing some terrific insights. If you’re interested in learning more about intergenerational program evaluation, we’d love to see you online at the AIIP JOY 3 Course. Learn more here