COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS PODCAST
Latest Episode
This week, we are joined by Naomi Lacey from Community Gardens Australia. Naomi is a permaculturalist who is passionate about promoting healthy food systems, sustainable lifestyles, and cultivating community. Naomi believes that community gardens play a pivotal role in ensuring better health outcomes for Australians, building community, addressing the climate crisis, reducing waste, and educating people.
Naomi discusses the benefits and growth of community gardening, highlighting a rise in community gardens and a 44% increase in the United States from 2012 to 2019, with similar trends here in Australia. Community gardens address social isolation, with doctors in the United Kingdom now prescribing them for mental health. Naomi emphasizes the importance of community involvement and local council support for land and funding. She touches on the role Community Gardens Australia plays in providing resources, education, and advocacy while also discussing sustainable planting practices and the potential for rooftop and verge gardens. Through these initiatives, Naomi and Community Gardens Australia are helping create greener, more connected communities across the country.
Where to Listen
Be sure to listen via Spotify, Apple Podcasts or the web player, weekly and follow our socials to stay notified as each episode is released.
About the Podcast
The Community Conversations Podcast will feature stories and information on community development efforts, the programs being run by our members and general community interest topics. Across the State of South Australia there are volunteers and staff helping our community members to find connections, access to food, housing and education in an environment that welcomes everyone to their doors. Community Centres are open for anyone and provide place based activities to enrich the lives of our community. We will be interviewing Community Centre members, community connection partners and community stakeholders who will share their experiences, activities and upcoming events.
The Podcast is aimed at highlighting the good work being done to make a difference at the grassroots level to address issues such as loneliness, homelessness, social injustice and how to improve wellbeing of our communities. Be sure to listen every week as we release each episode. The podcast will be easily accessible on our website and can be downloaded on your preferred podcast platforms.
Meet the Host
Kerrie Akkermans
Kerrie Akkermans, CEO of CCSA, is an avid supporter of the community sector. With years of experience as a broadcaster on FIVEaa, Kerrie has a natural ability to connect with guests and delve into their lived experiences and stories. Kerrie’s passion for supporting communities and sharing stories makes for an engaging and insightful listening experience.
Episodes
This week, we are joined by Naomi Lacey from Community Gardens Australia. Naomi is a permaculturalist who is passionate about promoting healthy food systems, sustainable lifestyles, and cultivating community. Naomi believes that community gardens play a pivotal role in ensuring better health outcomes for Australians, building community, addressing the climate crisis, reducing waste, and educating people.
Naomi discusses the benefits and growth of community gardening, highlighting a rise in community gardens and a 44% increase in the United States from 2012 to 2019, with similar trends here in Australia. Community gardens address social isolation, with doctors in the United Kingdom now prescribing them for mental health. Naomi emphasizes the importance of community involvement and local council support for land and funding. She touches on the role Community Gardens Australia plays in providing resources, education, and advocacy while also discussing sustainable planting practices and the potential for rooftop and verge gardens. Through these initiatives, Naomi and Community Gardens Australia are helping create greener, more connected communities across the country.
This week, we’re joined by Dr. Nadia Corsini, a behavioral scientist and senior research fellow at the University of South Australia. Dr. Corsini is passionate about translating evidence to solve pressing social and health challenges for industry, government, and most importantly, the public.
The Loneliness Project is a partnership between UniSA, The Hut Community Centre, and other academic, policy, and community organizations working together to address loneliness in communities. Dr. Corsini discusses the Spark: Igniting Human Connection project—a community co-design model to combat loneliness. Funded by the Women’s Health Research Translation and Impact Network (WHRTN), the research revealed that loneliness peaks around midlife and affects all genders equally. The Spark Project has developed several initiatives including a community café model, nature-based activities, and co-working spaces to foster meaningful social connections. These initiatives, led by trained volunteers, create sustainable community-driven solutions to loneliness while emphasizing the importance of face-to-face interactions over digital ones.
In this episode, we are joined by Jenni-Lee Keez, a survivor of anorexia nervosa and various associated mental health challenges, who has transformed her experiences into a mission of empowerment and healing. As a reality therapy certified counsellor, speaker, and teacher, Jenni-Lee shares powerful insights in her memoir, Anorexia Unlocked: Understanding Your Story Through Mine. Her journey began with traumatic experiences at age two, eventually leading to an eating disorder at 15. Despite achieving academic and athletic success, her struggles intensified, resulting in an anorexia diagnosis at 24, followed by OCD, chronic fatigue, and anxiety.
Through intensive therapy, Jenni-Lee began uncovering and healing from her past trauma. Today, she advocates for the vital role of lived experience in mental health treatment, offering various books, programs, and speaking engagements to support others on their recovery journeys. Her work particularly focuses on early intervention, trauma-informed care, and building supportive communities for those affected by eating disorders and mental health challenges.
This week, Claire Boan, the Mayor of Port Adelaide Enfield Council, shares her journey into local government while emphasizing the vital importance of community engagement and grassroots connections. During our conversation, she discusses how these connections help shape stronger, more resilient communities. She highlights the exciting recent opening of the new Yitpi Centre—a state-of-the-art cultural hub for the area. The center, which opened its doors a few weeks ago, features thoughtfully designed native areas, extensive green spaces, an engaging playground, and diverse activities for children of all ages.
The Yitpi Centre is designed to serve multiple purposes, functioning both as an event venue and as an enhanced space for community gatherings. Throughout the discussion, Mayor Boan passionately explores the crucial role of multi-functional community centers and emphasizes the growing need for future social infrastructure to support and nurture expanding communities.
In this week’s episode, we’re joined by Associate Professor Tim Sargeant from the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), a biomedical scientist leading cutting-edge research into autophagy – the body’s natural cellular cleaning process. We explore how autophagy influences biological aging and disease risk, and examine fascinating studies showing that enhancing this cellular process can slow disease progression and potentially extend lifespan.
Professor Sargeant explains the challenges of translating laboratory findings to human applications, given the complexity of human biochemistry. He breaks down the latest research on how lifestyle interventions like exercise, intermittent fasting, and specific dietary changes can boost autophagy and reduce disease risk. The discussion covers practical tips for optimizing cellular health, from timing your meals to choosing autophagy-promoting foods, showing how understanding these cellular processes could lead to longer, healthier lives for everyone.
This week marks both Community Centre Week and National Palliative Care Week. To celebrate, we are joined by Shyla Mills, the CEO of Palliative Care South Australia—a leading charity and peak body for Palliative Care in South Australia. She is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Flinders University and La Trobe University.
In this episode, Shyla discusses the Beyond Loss program, an innovative collaboration between our two organisations that addresses grief and loss within the community. The program combines Palliative Care SA’s expertise in grief support with Community Centres’ local reach and trusted spaces. The program aims to foster compassionate communities that support individuals through various types of loss, from bereavement to relationship breakdowns, job losses, and major life transitions.
Shyla highlights complex and anticipatory grief while advocating for early support and community involvement. She explains how trained Community Centre staff and volunteers work alongside grief counselors to create a network of support that is both professional and approachable. This collaborative approach ensures that community members can access support in familiar, non-clinical settings while benefiting from evidence-based grief support practices.
This week’s conversation emphasises the vital role of community centres in providing a safe space and practical support for those who are grieving, and demonstrates how centres can integrate the “Talk, Listen, Connect” approach to enhance community resilience.
Contact Us
Send us your feedback, ideas for future episodes or contact our team if you would like to be a guest on the podcast.
info@communitycentressa.asn.au