WHILE they are nearly obsolete when it comes to their original purpose, those old VHS tapes collecting dust in a cupboard somewhere can still serve a purpose.
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Behavioural therapist Colin Renton is aiming to build a garden shed at the Unanderra Community Garden out of 10,000 VHS tapes as part of his work with at-risk young people.
Mr Renton was inspired to build the Old Technology Shed to highlight the changes he thinks need to be made to the education system.
"I was at an op shop and I saw a whole stack of old tapes, we need a shed at the garden so I thought of using them as a way to keep them out of landfill, but also to show while technology has changed so much in recent years a lot of other things haven't," Mr Renton said.
"You look at the education system and it hasn't really changed over the last few years, but we've got generations of kids coming through who have different needs, kids who have got issues with mindlessness, frustration and anxiety and we need to be doing more to help those kids work through those issues."
Mr Renton is the manager of Wicked Workshops, and works with young people who are referred to him by Father Chris Riley's Youth Off The Streets Program at locations such as the community garden.
"We run group programs for kids who are usually 14, 15 or 16 years old who aren't reaching their potential due to behavioural issues.
"What we try to do is teach them to maintain positivity and better impulse control. If they can better regulate their feelings then they'll be happier and healthier, a lot of it is about getting them to acknowledge how they're feeling and what might be causing that and having them here in the garden is a place where they can feel safe and we can start to work through the issue they have."
The Old Technology Shed will form part of Mr Renton's work with the young people and he is looking for more tapes to finish the project.
"We've started building and I think it's probably going to take around 10,000 tapes to fully build the shed.
"So far we've got around 5000 ... so if anybody's got any lying around the house we'd love to have them."
Donate tapes at: Caltex Service Station, Belinda St, Gerringong; Lake Illawarra PCYC, Reddall Pde, Lake Illawarra; Barrack Heights Community Garden, cnr Wattle Rd and Carrington St, Barrack Heights; Youth Off The Streets, Craig Davis College, 92 Staff Rd, Cordeux Heights; Access Community Group, 87 Railway St, Corrimal; and Cocoon Flotation, 35a Bellevue Rd, Figtree.
