Building a Creative Community

Many retirement and aged care residents find it hard to downsize. Particularly for male residents, this can mean leaving behind treasured private tinkering spaces like the tool shed or garage.

uckily, many villages are starting to set up ‘Men’s Sheds’ – places that house the latest in gadgets and tools, and where residents can go to either find solitude or to connect with other like-minded crafters.

The backyard shed has long been an important part of New Zealand culture, and in reflection of this, community ‘Men’s Sheds’ have started popping up throughout the country. These are important spaces for men of different ages to come together, a place where blokes without their own work sheds can go to create or build, learn from others, or just hang out for a chat.

Retirement villages and aged care facilities are realising the benefits of having a communal tool shed on site. On top of the social benefits, these spaces give residents a sense of normality, that moving to a retirement village doesn’t mean giving up your old life. Despite being called men’s sheds, these spaces allow everyone to enjoy all the activities that would have been previously performed in a backyard shed or garage, including making and repairing things or simply relishing the rewards of knowing “I made that”.

Learning New Skills and Making New Friends

Having a common interest is a great way for residents to break the ice with one another. Beyond making new friends, residents will find that the people who use workspaces and tool sheds in retirement villages will have diverse skills and experience. Some are hobbyists who have learned things as they go along, while others have had formal training.

Some residents will enjoy learning new skills and will no doubt be able to get expert help when they need it, while others will be able to pass their own skills on to other people.

The resourcing of men’s sheds is part of an ongoing trend whereby retirement villages are providing an increasing number of services and facilities to incoming residents. Men’s

sheds play an important role in supporting a healthy, productive, and cohesive community in retirement villages.

The Essentials

When stocking a tool shed for a retirement community, it’s important to have all the familiar tools that residents have been using for years. Here are the essential things every ‘men’s shed’ should come with: • Safety Goggles and Ear Covers – Safety is the best place to start when stocking your shed and decent safety goggles and ear covers are a must have. Ideal for woodworking, carpentry, or even just cutting the lawn.

Other safety items to have are protective gloves and a wellstocked first aid kit. • Measuring Tools – Measure twice, cut once. That’s the builder’s motto and there is a wide range of measuring tools available today. Don’t just settle for a normal tape measure, be sure to include others like a compass, square, level, and angle gauge. • Electric Drill – Possibly the most popular tool and one of the best inventions of the 20th century, the electric drill can be handy if you want to drill a hole in wood, concrete, plaster, or even metal. Bear in mind that with batteryoperated drills, a reliable brand is a must for decent battery life. • Hammer – An obvious addition to any tool shed, there are several varieties of hammer out there. Unless you’re in construction or doing metal work, a simple wooden-handled claw hammer is all you need. • Crescent Wrench – If there’s only one wrench in the shed it should be this one with a small adjuster you move with your thumb. A crescent wrench should take care of most jobs. A bigger wrench may also be handy for larger nuts/bolts. • Other Essentials include: Allen keys, duct tape, utility knife, screwdrivers, sander, pliers, chisels, wire cutters and builders pencils.