While the Sheds’ main aim is to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities, a Shed in Victoria is demonstrating they can also help improve the environment and raise awareness about climate change. 

The Koo Wee Rup Men’s Shed is located at Kooweerup Regional Health Service (KRHS), about an hour south east of Melbourne.

Despite its name, the shed acts like a community hub - numerous men, women, young people, school groups and disability groups visit the Shed each week. I've been working at KRHS since the middle of 2015 and have witnessed first-hand the environmental benefits of the Shed.

Activities - such as recycling and re-using old items for art, metalwork and woodwork; growing organic vegetables in the community garden; protecting native wildlife like bandicoots and worm farming - have helped put people back in touch with the environment.

The Shed’s staff say there’s been a change in members’ attitude to the environment since the Shed opened in 2009. As one staff member put it: “these shed members think about the environment all the time”.

Next door is the health service’s Eco House which provides information on how we can all tackle climate change.

The consequences of climate change (storms, bushfires, heatwaves, drought) are impacting everyone’s health and wellbeing, especially those in regional Australia.

What’s happening in Koo Wee Rup demonstrates how Men's Sheds can support the environment and drive action to take control of our future. There is a great opportunity to replicate Koo Wee Rup’s success across the country.

Laura Ayres is a Health Promotion Officer at Kooweerup Regional Health Service and Deakin University researcher