Members of the recently created Gosford Australia Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spent a day pulling weeds and planting trees and bushes recently in their community. A stake is a group of Latter-day Saint congregations in a geographical area.
On 18 July, members of the stake donned the distinctive yellow “Mormon Helping Hands” vests and got to work alongside others from the community in beautifying a public space in North Shelly.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
The volunteers did some serious weeding, removing turkey rhubarb and South African bijou bush before imbedding over 400 plants in their place.
Local resident, Ken Ferguson, a Church member who does weekly service on the site, said, “It has taken some time but slowly the area is returning to its natural, friendly environment.”
Also helping on the project was the Local Wyong Council Landcare group and the North Shelly Board Riders.
President of the Church’s Gosford stake, Conrad Dunn, said, “It was a wonderful opportunity for our members to provide service in their local community. It was great to see families come together on the day, even the children digging holes, planting trees and weeding.”
The Church’s Mormon Helping Hands program provides opportunities for Church members to give their time and talents to improve the communities in which they live.
The Church is involved in humanitarian projects in 185 countries around the world.
See a short video about the Church and its humanitarian work.