Community Involvement

The Mosman Park Men’s Shed is more than what happens inside the building! We are very active in the Western Suburbs community providing interesting projects for members and useful, cost effective services and items.

Probably the Shed’s biggest involvement in the local community was to be project managers for the magnificent Russell Brown Adventure Park in Mosman Park (east end of McCabe Street). This was a project initiated by The Rotary Club of Mosman Park, St Hilda’s Anglican School for Girls and the Mosman Park Town Council. Work began in mid-2014 and the park, which has subsequently won both State & National awards, was completed by Easter 2015. We have an ongoing presence in the park through regular maintenance provided by Shed volunteers.

The Shed runs the very successful annual Mosman Craft Market. This popular event has grown to be a major involvement for members including the sale of wooden toys, plants and the now, famous, gourmet hot dogs, all helping to provide funds to run the Shed. The Market is a major source of membership recruitment as well as curious potential members can stroll through the extensive workshop, recreation and social areas of the Shed on the day.

The Shed is not just about older men! Since 2016 we have teamed with the Mosman Park Youth Advisory Council to provide one of a series of checkpoints for the STOMP! event. One hundred participants aged between 10 and 18 took part in the 2016 STOMP, held in September, an event now clearly a favourite with the Town’s young people”.

The Shed has a strong partnership with the Rotary Club of Mosman Park who share the Shed rooms for their activities. Rotary has been of great assistance in the establishment and initial running of the Shed and this partnership provides mutual benefit to both organisations.

To identify and improve skill levels for teenage boys with differing levels of disability, several Shed members were involved in a Mentoring Project initiated by Murdoch University, Curtin University, The University of Western Sydney and the Disability Services Commission. The initial project ran for some 10 weeks and has provided ongoing opportunities for these men with special needs.

Shed members have supported the RSL on Poppy Day at various points around Mosman Park over the past few years.

With its mission to be available to all community members to support their wellbeing, the Shed ran a stall at the Engaging the Ageing Expo – September 2016 in Dalkeith.

The Shed has been involved in various projects for community organisations and groups which are completed at cost plus a donation to Shed funds. These include:

• Music stands for the music room; installing notice boards and replacing doors; and seating equipment for the outdoor classroom at the Mosman Park Primary School.
• Improved outdoor play areas by renovating climbing monkey bars the Cottesloe Primary School.
• Impressively large metal “fish” bike rack for the North Cottesloe Primary School. Built to a design created by one of the students.
• Not quite the Sydney Opera House but the Shed manufactured sets for two operas for the Opera Box Opera Company.
• Earthcarers (Cottesloe) were provided with two re-cycling bins for this important work.
• Bee nesting boxes created by a Curtin University PHD Student for native bee sampling.