Since the first garden tidy-up in a unit on North St, Ulladulla, the volunteers did another four that day, four the following week and four last week.

“We now have six volunteers - three on our mowing crew, two gardening crew and one handling administration,” said Southern Cross Community Housing manager Eric Coulter. 

Yard Assist kicked off on July 1, starting with a small handful of volunteers and customers from within community housing.

Yards are generally tidied up on weekdays, often Wednesdays, but the schedule is flexible.

“We expected through winter to start slowly but have been busy every week and now we have volunteers and clients enrolling from the wider community,” Mr Coulter said.

“When the weather warms up we’ll get more job requests, so with 15 clients and growing we can always do with more volunteers.”

The service grew out of a demand from the large population of elderly people who cannot afford to pay local contractors fees for lawn mowing and gardening, who feel more secure having volunteers assisting them.

Volunteers can also take time for a chat and to offer social contact to people isolated through age or disability after they’ve done the work in the yard.

Yard Assist first started in Nowra and has helped more than 70 residents around Nowra and Bombaderry.

Contact the Ulladulla Community Resources Centre, 4454 0477 to volunteer or to register for a yard cleanup.