While some students worked away in the sweltering heat of a concrete car park, others enjoyed a beach walk and BBQ with former homeless people sharing their experiences. Another group mowed lawns, scoured the Mercury for jobs and worked on Wii bowling averages with members of a transition to work program.

All this as part of Cedars’ third annual Year 10 community service week, which kicked off yesterday.

The Program’s coordinator, Brad Kelly says Cedars already has a relationship with Essential Personnel’s Balgownie house. “When we started this program three years ago, it was all about physical work and getting stuck in.”

In fact, Cedars students helped refurbish the house in 2007 and to return in 2009 is a satisfying experience.  

“The house has a wonderful welcoming feel to it. It was heartening to see students and Essential Personnel’s clients do lawns and gardening in the morning and enjoy each others’ company over a BBQ, game of cricket and laughing in front of the Wii.”

Today, students and clients will enjoy a bush walk together.

The community service program, which runs from Monday 16th November to Wednesday 18th November, will end with a fun day on Thursday when students from the various projects will come together and share their experiences