Through gardening, we're not just growing plants
we're cultivating confidence, capability, and change in young lives.
Our mission
Planting Pathways empowers at-risk young people to transform their lives through a trauma-informed, therapeutic gardening and landscape program.
We combine hands-on learning with drug and alcohol education and restorative practices, creating safe, supportive environments where young people develop resilience, purpose, and the skills to build positive futures through connection to the earth and community.
About the program
Planting Pathways is a 10-week, diversion and early intervention, trauma-informed therapeutic program based in Sunshine, designed for at-risk young people.
The program focuses on empowering participants through a combination of hands-on community gardening, Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) education and restorative practices.
Community Gardening
Participants engage in vocational skill-building, including garden design, construction (such as building raised beds and greenhouses), soil preparation, and sustainable harvesting.
AOD Education
This stream focuses on harm reduction. Youth learn to identify triggers, develop healthy coping strategies, and understand the links between substance use, finances, and mood.
Restorative Practice
This stream encourages participants to take active responsibility for their actions. Discussion topics include the impact of behaviour on shared spaces, creating team agreements, repairing harm, and building a positive personal legacy.
More about the program
Program structure
Duration: 2 sessions per week over 10 consecutive weeks
Hours: 10.00am to 2.30pm (4.5 hours) per day, totaling 9 hours per week
Days: Operates Monday to Saturday.
Participants: Maximum 2 young people per session
Staffing: 1:2 qualified professional specialising in at risk young people
Who can participate?
We work with young people aged 12 - 17+ navigating complex challenges, those who've experienced trauma and are facing multiple barriers to stability and wellbeing. Our participants often need practical, engaging alternatives to traditional interventions.
We welcome referrals for young people who are impacted by or at risk of involvement with:
Child Protection services
Out of home care placements
Alcohol and Other Drugs
The criminal justice system
How do we get started and what’s involved?
The Planting Pathways client pathway consists of five steps, from initial referral through to program exit and transition:
First contact, referral & baseline – Submit a referral form to get started. Our coordinator will guide you through our baseline form
Youth consultation – The young person visits the garden to see the program firsthand
Suitability & enrolment – We conduct a thorough review of all referral and consultation information to make an honest assessment of whether we can meet the young person's needs safely.
Program delivery – The young person receives a welcome pack to begin their 10-week program. A mid point check in is conducted in Week 5.
Transition & reporting - Discussions with the client to establish their exit and transition plan. A full summary of progress is conducted then followed by a check in three months post the program.
What is the cost of the program?
We tailor our packages to meet each client's specific needs, so costs vary depending on your circumstances and requirements.
To discuss pricing and find out what works best for you, please get in touch with us. We're happy to have a conversation about your situation and provide a personalised quote.
Payment can be made via bank transfer once enrolment is confirmed.
Currently accepting referrals
We believe every young person deserves the opportunity to grow, heal, and thrive through meaningful connection with the land, their community, and themselves.
Know a young person who could benefit from this program?
We'd love to hear from you.
Let's get started
Please complete your details below and we'll be in touch with you within 2 business days.
For any urgent enquiries, please email or phone us on 0411 300 643.
FAQs
The Planting Pathways client pathway consists of five steps, from initial contact through to program exit and transition.
First contact, referral & baseline – Submit a referral form to get started. Our coordinator will guide you through our baseline form
Youth consultation – The young person visits the garden to see the program firsthand
Suitability & enrolment – We conduct a thorough review of all referral and consultation information to make an honest assessment of whether we can meet the young person's needs safely.
Program delivery – The young person receives a welcome pack to begin their 10-week program. A mid point check in is conducted in Week 5.
Transition & reporting - Discussions with the client to establish their exit and transition plan. A full summary of progress is conducted then followed by a check in three months post the program.
We aim to start new programs at the beginning of each season (summer, autumn, winter and spring). It can take up to 10 business days to complete a thorough intake process that ensures the best fit for each young person.
We understand that sometimes a young person may need to commence the program urgently. In these cases, we can fast-track the process to 4 business days with your help and this subject to availability. Get in touch with us if you have any questions.
We work with young people navigating complex challenges, those who've experienced trauma and are facing multiple barriers to stability and wellbeing. Our participants often need practical, engaging alternatives to traditional interventions.
We welcome referrals for young people who are impacted by or at risk of involvement with:
Child Protection services
Out of home care placements
Alcohol and Other Drugs
The criminal justice system
We tailor our packages to meet each client's specific needs, so costs vary depending on your circumstances and requirements.
To discuss pricing and find out what works best for you, please get in touch with us. We're happy to have a conversation about your situation and provide a personalised quote.
Payment can be made via bank transfer once enrolment is confirmed.
Yes, you can request a hard copy of the referrer form via the following channels:
1. Email us at contact@plantingpathways.com.au
2. Send us an enquiry via the Contact us page.
Help us cultivate confidence, capability and change in young lives.
Next intake is commencing in May, so if you know someone who might benefit from the Planting Pathways program, we're here to help.
Reach out today to start the conversation.
Welcome to Your Sunshine
Planting Pathways is run out of Sunshine and as it turns out, it's named after 1 kid who refused to give up.
Back in 1884, there was an 18-year-old called Hugh Victor McKay. He wasn't rich. He didn't have connections. He was just a teenager standing in the dirt on his dad's farm, sick of watching his family break their backs at harvest time. So he decided to do something about it. In a tiny backyard workshop — basically a shed — he built a machine that could strip, clean, and bag grain all at once. No one had done that before. He was 18.
But here's the part of the story most people skip over.
It didn't just work out. In 1895, McKay lost everything. The economy crashed, his business went under, and he was basically told he was done. A lot of people would have walked away. He didn't. He picked himself up, rebuilt his machine, and gave his whole operation a new name: Sunshine. Because he believed that even after the worst times, light comes back.
In 1904, he moved to a place called Braybrook Junction — a patch of land in Melbourne's west with maybe 20 houses. Most people saw nothing. McKay saw something worth building. He didn't just set up a factory. He built homes for his workers. He gave the area electricity. And he created gardens — actual community gardens — because he believed that people do better when they're connected to the land and to each other. By 1907, the whole town was renamed Sunshine after him.
One kid with a shed changed the name on the map.
So why am I telling you this?
Because what you're about to do over the next 10 weeks has more in common with McKay's story than you might think.
Growing something, whether it's a machine or a garden, starts the same way. You clear out what isn't working. You put in the groundwork. You show up, even on the days you don't feel like it. And then, bit by bit, things start to grow.
Maybe things haven't gone the way you wanted them to so far. Maybe you've had some setbacks, your own version of losing everything and starting over. That's alright. McKay did too. And he was standing on that same ground in Sunshine when he decided his story wasn't finished yet.
That's the same ground you'll be working on with us. That's what Planting Pathways is about. You're not just here to learn about plants. You're here to build something — for yourself. Something that proves what you're capable of when someone gives you the space to grow and you decide to take it.
McKay turned a shed into a suburb.
You're starting with a garden.
Let's see what you turn it into.