About the Topsoil Garden Project
The Topsoil Garden has a special story in the Adelaide foothills, where two worlds and two cultures converge. In collaboration with Kaurna/Narrunga elder Jack Buckskin, we have discovered that this location was once a meeting ground, a hunting ground, and a place of the deep connection between the Kaurna and Peramangk peoples. We acknowledge and highlight the significance of this place as a source of healing.
Mission: At Topsoil, our mission is to revolutionise healthcare in a meaningful and natural way. By embracing nature and fostering a sense of community, we aim to restore individualised support and empower members of our community with disabilities and those experiencing mental ill-health. Grounded in a strengths-based, multi-disciplinary model, we provide quality, innovative, and person-centred services within a community-based, natural environment.
We strive to develop community-based, nature-centric wellness services that cater to the needs of individuals facing mental ill-health and psychosocial disabilities. Our vision is to establish the Adelaide Hills as a thriving ecosystem of well-being, where people can access clinical care, support work, and holistic services, all within a supportive and inspiring community.
We believe this approach will yield better outcomes for our clients, fostering a greater sense of connectedness and acceptance. To achieve this, we propose the following initiatives:
Invest in a diverse, evidence-based, and holistic range of offerings through an allied health hub model.
Empower clients to choose and develop relationships with their preferred support workers, providing them with assistance in brokering and refining those connections.
Enable community members to become support workers through experience-based and formalised training programs.
Facilitate nature-based learning, skill development, and potential employment opportunities for clients through our horticulture therapy garden and integrated hotel business.
Together, we can create a regenerative space where healing and growth flourish, cultivating a community that supports, enables, and inspires individuals on their wellness journey.
Acknowledging and honouring the traditional custodians of the land, the Kaurna and Peramangk people, upon which The Topsoil Garden and The Scenic Hotel stand, we embrace their cultural, spiritual, physical, and emotional connection to their ancestral lands. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present, and emerging, as well as to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from across South Australia and Australia, recognising their connection to the Country.
