The Pulse: June 2025
Your monthly update on the latest initiatives, innovations, and impacts from Dementia Alliance—keeping you connected to the heartbeat of our work
Greetings from Reflections at Eppalock—where every month brings fresh milestones and momentum!
Since our last newsletter, we’ve:
Secured a $7,000 grant from Open Gardens Victoria to launch our Healing Garden.
Been named finalists in two categories of the Be.Bendigo Business Excellence Awards—Technology & Digital and Diverse & Inclusive—recognising our innovation and community focus.
Achieved Land for Wildlife registration, underscoring our commitment to conservation.
Broken ground on Stage 2 works, including the new “Stillness in Flight” Sculpture Garden, the Healing Garden, and exciting renovations to our Community Hub.
In this issue, you’ll find deeper dives into each of these and other projects, volunteer opportunities, upcoming events, and ways you can be part of our growing community.
Be.Bendigo Business Excellence Awards
We’re honoured to be named finalists in two categories of the Be.Bendigo Business Excellence Awards Technology & Digital and Diverse & Inclusive.
As a community organisation, this recognition means so much. It highlights the innovation, care, and collaboration that underpin everything we do — from creating nature-based dementia care models to building inclusive, connected spaces for all. Being a finalist alongside so many inspiring local businesses is a proud moment, and a testament to the passion of our team, volunteers, and partners who make this work possible every day.
Reflections at Eppalock is now officially registered as a Land for Wildlife site
We’re proud to share that Reflections at Eppalock is now officially registered as a Land for Wildlife site! This recognition celebrates our commitment to protecting and enhancing native habitat, supporting biodiversity, and creating a welcoming environment not just for people — but for the birds, bees, and wildlife that call this place home. It’s another meaningful step in aligning our work with nature, care, and community.
Stillness in Flight
Stillness in Flight, generously funded by CareVillas Australia, is a contemplative sculpture garden designed to offer a space for reflection, memory, and quiet wonder. Created with people living with dementia, their carers, and the wider community in mind, the garden uses bold colours, natural textures, and the symbolic beauty of birds to evoke both stillness and motion. Structured in three flowing sections, the centrepiece features large corten steel bird sculptures perched on salvaged, charred tree trunks — representing both the fragility and resilience of the Australian bush. These are surrounded by soft plantings of Myoporum parvifolium, chosen for its dementia-friendly qualities.
Smaller bird sculptures are positioned on bright blue posts to enhance visibility, with clear nameplates supporting wayfinding and recognition. Nest-like clusters of rusted metal stakes add visual cohesion and a sense of gentle protection throughout the space. With the addition of bird baths and feeders, the garden becomes a living habitat, inviting real birds to interact with their sculptural counterparts — beautifully blurring the line between art and nature, presence and memory. Stillness in Flight is more than a garden; it’s a place of connection, calm, and quiet discovery.
Wings of Connection
Wings of Connection is a vibrant community-driven project that brings together people of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate and support our local bird and bee populations. Designed to foster connection, creativity, and nature-based wellbeing — especially for people living with dementia and their carers — the project blends habitat creation, environmental education, and gentle engagement with Country.
At the heart of Wings of Connection is a true spirit of collaboration. The project has welcomed contributions from local Men’s Sheds,Rotary, schools, and other community groups, who have come together to build bird nesting boxes, craft native bee homes, and create pollinator-friendly plantings throughout Reflections at Eppalock. These hands-on activities are paired with learning opportunities around conservation, biodiversity, and the importance of slowing down and noticing the small, winged life that surrounds us.
More than a conservation effort, Wings of Connection is about building relationships — between people, place, and the natural world. It’s a project where art meets environment, where community meets care, and where every bird box or flower planted becomes part of a bigger story of inclusion, healing, and hope.
The Healing Garden
The Healing Garden at Reflections is designed as a peaceful, sensory-rich space that nurtures emotional wellbeing, connection, and calm. Supported by a $7,000 grant from Open Gardens Victoria, this garden offers a tranquil retreat for people living with dementia, their carers, and the broader community. Carefully selected plants invite touch, scent, and gentle engagement, with textures and colours that stimulate without overwhelming. Winding paths, shaded seating, and sheltered nooks create a welcoming environment that encourages quiet reflection, conversation, and restorative time in nature.
More than just a beautiful space, the Healing Garden has been thoughtfully designed to support mental health, reduce stress, and foster a sense of safety and belonging. It’s a place where memories can be sparked, connections strengthened, and stillness embraced. Whether visiting alone, with a loved one, or as part of a group, the garden invites all who enter to slow down, breathe deeply, and simply be.
Welcoming Our La Trobe OT Students – Creating Safe & Inclusive Spaces
The project involves:
✅ Developing a tailored audit tool for dementia-friendly, nature-based environments
✅ Completing a full audit of the Reflections site using this tool
✅ Providing clear, practical recommendations to guide our future planning
We’re excited to welcome Allira, Eve and Meshaila, Occupational Therapy Honours students from La Trobe University’s Rural School of Health, to Reflections at Eppalock.
As part of their placement, the students are undertaking a project focused on creating safe and inclusive outdoor spaces, particularly for people living with dementia and their carers. Their primary objective is to develop and conduct an environmental audit of the Reflections site. This includes identifying potential risks, assessing accessibility and sensory features, and proposing strategies to improve safety, sustainability, and dementia-inclusiveness.
The outcomes will directly inform the next phase of our work at Reflections and contribute to Dementia Alliance’s broader Bush Inspired Community Care Model. We’re delighted to have these students on board and can’t wait to see their impact.
Celebrating Our Volunteers – Over 400 Hours in One Month!
Once again, we’re thrilled to acknowledge the incredible effort and commitment of our volunteers — clocking up over 400 hours of service in just one month! A total of 3,250 hours since September 2024 (9 months). From gardening and maintenance to community support and project development, our volunteers are the heart of Reflections at Eppalock.
A special thank you to the 16 crew members from Mosquito Creek CFA who joined us for a recent controlled burn-off as part of our Stage 2 site preparations. Not only did they help burn nearly 60 debris piles, but they generously shared their knowledge and insights around fire safety and land management — invaluable guidance that will shape how we care for and prepare our space moving forward.
To all our volunteers — thank you. Your time, skills, and passion are what make this place thrive.
Walking in Edie’s Shoes
A Virtual Reality Experience
Our second group recently participated in Dementia Australia’s Enabling Edie session, a powerful virtual reality workshop that offers a rare opportunity to see the world through the eyes of someone living with dementia. Using VR headsets, participants experienced the challenges faced by Edie, gaining deeper empathy and valuable tools to support people living with dementia.
This session brought together carers, board members, and Occupational Therapy students, all of whom walked away with a renewed sense of understanding and insight. Feedback from the day highlighted just how impactful the experience was, with many noting how it would shape both their personal and professional approaches to care and communication.
A big thank you to everyone who took part — and to Dementia Australia for making such an important learning opportunity available.
Launch of Fishing Friends
We’re delighted to announce the launch of Fishing Friends — a relaxed, inclusive group that brings together people of all ages and backgrounds to enjoy connection through the simple joy of fishing.
We feel incredibly fortunate to have the Heathcote Angling Club as our mentors, generously sharing their knowledge, time, and humour with our group. While the fish didn’t bite on launch day, the friendships certainly did — with laughter, stories, great food, and plenty of learning on both sides.
It’s more than fishing — it’s connection.
Until Next Time – Stay Connected
As you’ve read, it’s been a season of growth, connection, and momentum at Reflections at Eppalock. From new projects like the Healing Garden and Stillness in Flight, to meaningful partnerships, volunteer milestones, and powerful learning experiences — our community continues to thrive through collaboration, creativity, and care.
We’re proud of what we’ve achieved together this month, and even more excited for what’s ahead. Thank you to everyone — volunteers, partners, students, supporters — who continues to walk alongside us on this journey. Your energy and generosity are what keep The Pulse strong.
Stay safe, stay connected, and we’ll see you soon at Reflections.
The Dementia Alliance Team