Right royal makeover

CARMEN Scull is longing for the day she can walk through her new food forest picking fruit and nuts.

By Chris Earl

CARMEN Scull is longing for the day she can walk through her new food forest picking fruit and nuts.

The dream has been long-held for Carmen, the third generation member of the Scull family to live in Arnold who now shares her home with sons Kale and Seth and daughter Willa who turned six yesterday.

While there was the vision, Carmen instead was travelling to help other people create their own food forests in garden makeovers by online guru David Troon.

When David decided to do one more makeover, it was Carmen’s project and her generosity that led to more than a dozen volunteers descending on Arnold for the King’s Birthday weekend.

“Carmen has been so special because she has been on every makeover we have done,” said the New South Wales-based David.

The international photographer and Getty Images contributor turned to his other passion during COVID - growing organic food through the land management design of permaculture. His Weedy Garden makeovers have become an online sensation.

“I visited Carmen and looked around the area, seeing the start on a food forest that Carmen had started creating four years ago. I saw her proposals and plans. Decided right then that Carmen would get all out love,” David said. “I wanted to give back to someone who has always been there pitching in.”

Carmen said she had been inspired by David’s garden makeovers and his videos.

“I want to have a food forest that we can walk through picking fruit and nuts. I’ll also build a shade house for a vegetable garden.”

David, who everyone calls Weedy, said the forests allowed people to control their own food security.

With Carmen selected for what David says will probably be his last makeover, volunteers answered the call from as far away as Canberra and central New South Wales.

From closer to Arnold came Newbridge’s Christopher Burslem, answering the call for his second Weedy Makeover.

“I was in Naracoorte, South Australia. The car had broken down and I met Weedy in the pub,” Christopher said.

“We were both topping up on coffee and milk. He suggested joining a makeover he was doing there - that’s where I first met Carmen even though we live within a few kilometres of each other. Loved it.

“So when Weedy announced the next makeover was at Carmen’s place, I just had to be there,” Christopher said in between building a pond for the Arnold food forest.

His partner on one part of a bigger project spread of an acre at Carmen’s place was Wedderburn’s Tina Raewyn.

It was her first time. “Weedy and I are both permaculture students and I’ve been following him for a long time,” she said.

David and Carmen co-ordinated volunteers clearing the block, building ponds and a new watercourse that Carmen says will manage water flowing through the property and boost nutrients for fruit trees planted in raised beds.

They had support from businesses across the region in transforming the block over three days at the weekend - Inglewood Mitre 10 and Bridgewater Nursery among them. Nursery owner Bianca Rothacker made a special delivery on Saturday as volunteers finished their morning session. That’s when they headed across the road to the Arnold hall, built back in 1887, for lunch. It’s one of the few old buildings still standing in Arnold.

Carmen’s parents owned the former Junction Hotel in the 1980s.

“I grew up here. Went to Inglewood kinder when it was at the old town hall and then attended Tarnagulla Primary School,” said Carmen who cherishes memories of a great community spirit when growing up.

“We brought our house and block and got it back in the family in 2012 and have been renoing ever since, the need for space keeps growing.

“We have my father, Mike Scull my brother, Simon Scull myself, Mark Hall and the kids Kale, Seth and Willa living here. And most often Kale’s girlfriend Morgan. So a very full house. “We have lots of mouths to feed. So a food forest and vegetable garden is just perfect and hopefully it’ll produce enough to food to feed the whole community.”

For Weedy, he has grand hopes for Carmen’s food forest. ““When I think of paradise, I think of a garden. It´s like a home inside a home.” As he hit the road back to NSW, he said: “I am on my way home now. Finished another epic makeover. Thanks to the amazing love and support from our wonderful community.”

Carmen can now see her long-held dream blossoming into reality.

“It was amazing to have people come and help Weedy. We’re a close group of friends and it’s all thanks to Weedy sharing his passion and love,” Carmen said.

And for birthday girl Willa, she says the food forest was her early present.