Diana’s Story
The first time I left Mexico to live abroad, I was 24 years old and working as a Junior Editor at a Mexican Television Broadcasting company. Little did I know that travelling would not just teach me about responsibility; my adventure would guide me to the fascinating world of growing food and the value of community, the two reasons that keep me motivated despite being far from my closest family and the place I was familiar with.
Leaving all my support back in Mexico and living by myself in another country was a shock. Joining Spanish-speaking communities helped me to navigate some of the challenges. Later on, while I was living in a small town in Japan, I couldn’t connect with groups I could feel familiar with. Robin, whom I met in Mexico briefly and who is the reason I live in Australia – that’s another story – and I started a cultural group with the idea of creating our own little community to meet more people and do activities together, even during the cold winter, when all the streets were covered in ice and snow. Communities, Spanish-speaking or not, became my second family.
In 2019, circumstances brought Robin, my children, and me back to Daylesford, Robin’s hometown. I knew some people because Robin grew up here, but I was curious to learn more about this community on my own. In my first years living in Australia, I learned about these amazing places called “Neighbourhood Houses”, where people from different walks of life cross paths, learn, and share knowledge. I visited the Daylesford Neighbourhood Centre in 2021, and by pure chance they were looking for a volunteer in the garden.
I was excited to take the role, but the jobs in the garden were more focused on lawn maintenance, so after a chat with the Manager at that time, Danny, we agreed I would help in the office once a week. Although I was enjoying every week coming to the Centre and learning from everyone, I was excited by the idea of putting in time outside, planting stuff and getting my hands in the soil.
In 2023, Danny got a Biodiversity Grant through Hepburn Shire Council to start an Indigenous Plants Garden and I was invited to make it happen. It was terrifying to lead the project but thanks to a lot of people in the community who helped me with guidance, planting, knowledge, and more, the garden was established. It is still thriving and now it’s part of The Paddock Project.
My life got busier with work and studies that I took on board. I stopped volunteering for a few months. During that time, lots of changes were happening at the Centre. I came back to find an enthusiastic placement student, Noah, motivated to build a Chicken Coop and new garden beds. With the help of the Not-for-Profit organisation “Plantfulness”, we relocated the garden beds and revitalised old ones at the back of the Centre.
New ideas emerged, more volunteers joined the project and now I’m part of this thriving community that inspires and motivates me. Every Monday, from 9am to 1pm, we share conversations, cups of tea, gardening jobs, to-do lists, food recipes and all things related to growing food and learning how to be a more resilient community.
If you’d like to join me and dozens of other volunteers helping our Daylesford community, go to https://www.dncentre.org.au/volunteer
Story by Diana Martinez
