Easy Care Gardening (ECG) is a charitable gardening service and part of the Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP). Qualified horticulturists work with teams of volunteer gardeners to weed, prune, mulch and make gardens safe and tidy and "easy care" so that these people, who can otherwise look after themselves, can remain in their own homes. Easy Care Gardening Inc operates in the Ku-ring-gai, Hornsby, Ryde and Hunters Hill local government areas in Sydney's northern suburbs. Easy Care Gardening was established on 8 August 1988 with just 3 volunteers and a handful of clients. Thirty-five years later ECG have 500+ volunteers working in gardens of well over 1,000 mostly elderly clients. Volunteers are all ages from late teens to late 80s. Anyone who is fit enough to work is welcome. The work suits recent retirees wanting to make friends and links in their community, parents with school age children and time to spare during the day, people between jobs, students and anyone who would prefer to keep fit and help others.
