Recipients for the 2023 Community Garden Grants announced

Winyu ECS YWCA Canberra

Winyu Sprout Garden

This garden is aimed at empowering children in service to grow their own food. Through the establishment of vegetable patches, herb gardens, and composting stations, children will learn about plant life cycles, sustainable practices, and the importance of nutritious, homegrown food. The project will empower children to become active participants in their food journey, fostering a sense of pride, connection to nature, and a lifelong passion for sustainable living.

$3,552.72

Campbell Community Association Inc, Campbell Park Care

Campbell Community Edible Garden Project

In 2021 the CCA used grant funds to install three wicking beds in the park behind Campbell shops.  Local members of the community provide seedlings and other materials to maintain the beds.  The produce grown is available for all members of the community and people regularly take herbs, tomatoes, strawberries and other vegetables grown by volunteers.  This project will expand the garden by adding a further three wicking beds.

$4,936.80

UCA – Tuggeranong Uniting Church

Erindale Neighbourhood Garden TodPod

This garden is used by children in the Communities at Work Family Day Care program for outdoor learning and play. They are taught how plants grow and sustainability concepts such as composting, recycling and healthy eating. Their learning centres on three raised garden beds, where they create worm farms, watch bees and other insects, and grow vegetables. This project provides the simple improvements of paving the paths around the beds to reduce waterlogging; and building a small seating area to create a fun and practical "tod pod" for learning.

$2,500

Communities at Work

The Sanctuary

This project will fill an un-utilised garden space for children at the OSHC service. It will create four separate garden areas, where children will plant bush tucker foods, fruits and vegetables for use in the services meals. As well as levelling an uneven area and installing large stone seating to create a meeting space for yarning. The final three components are a pipe wall for water play, a sensory path comprised of 8 different materials for the children to walk on, and a fishpond developed from an old bath already within the space.

$3,835

Church of the Good Shepherd

Community Garden Upgrade

This project will upgrade and improve an existing Community Garden, in operation for 3 years.  An addition of a large-scale compost production area, more garden beds, seedlings, soil and replacement of the current garden shed and concrete base will improve the safety of our volunteers which has become unsafe. This will allow continuation of sharing fresh produce to those in the wider community, foster relationships between the volunteers, and encourage physical activity.

$3,265.73

St. Anthony’s Parish Primary School

STA Kitchen Garden and Outdoor Learning Space

The STA Kitchen Garden and Outdoor Learning Space will provide a living infrastructure space to learn through participation in planning, planting, growing and harvesting produce using sustainable principles for health and wellbeing. Harvested produce will be used in the P&F run school canteen and shared with disadvantaged families in the STA community. The Kitchen Garden intends to include multicultural edible produce that forms the school community, provide opportunities to further enhance student learning, promote greater social inclusion and increase parent engagement.

$8,620

Neville Bonner Primary School Parents and Citizens Association

Neville Bonner Primary School Kitchen Garden

The current kitchen garden is now in a state where the space is unable to be effectively utilised. This project will allow the P&C to oversee the revitalisation of the garden so that it is again usable for classroom lessons and lunchtime environmental/gardening clubs. This project will be the first step of a larger project and includes building new raised garden beds, moving existing raised beds and filling both with soil. To help control weeds gravel paths will be placed around the garden beds. The conclusion of the project will be planting seeds, seedling, fruit trees and native shrubs.

$5,435.82

Canberra Montessori School

Canberra Montessori School Community Reconciliation Garden

The CMS Community Reconciliation Garden was established in 2021, mirroring community efforts towards reconciliation and providing an outdoor classroom where students and the community can share knowledge and learning that fosters opportunities for cohesive, sustainable garden practices. This project is to establish an eco-corridor for the native flora and fauna inhabiting the garden through further native planting. The yarning circle will encourage the community to share conversations. A composting system for the vegetable gardens and a sustainable watering system will be added.

$6,123.40

Unit Plan 269 – Taylor View – Mawson

Taylor View Community Garden

The intention of this garden is to help residents of Taylor View connect and share positive experiences. There are upwards of 100 residents all of whom have minimal outdoor space to support food growth. Benefits of this community garden include helping residents to grow their own food in small spaces, encouraging healthier and sustainable practices, promoting regeneration of natural spaces and improving relationships and sense of community within the complex.

$2,003.96

Scullin Community Group Incorporated

Scullin Shops Food Forest Garden

The project will create a series of garden installations that provide visual and social appeal to the local area. It will promote a sense of community and belonging, food production, reducing food waste, and creating habitat. The project will be a hub of food-producing plants with beneficial pollinator plants and habitat for local wildlife. The project will also improve the visual appeal of the Scullin Shops, store carbon in the soil, reduce the urban heat effect in the area and overall contribute towards a zero emissions circular economy future.

$9,773.01

Canberra Environment Centre

Canberra Environment Centre Community Garden at Gungaderra Homestead

The Canberra Environment Centre (CEC) aims to support the local community in establishing, and growing the garden so it becomes a valued community space where local residents can connect and learn about all aspects of sustainable vegetable gardening, composting and worm farming and effective water use. The fresh produce will be donated to local public housing residents and volunteers, who can learn about preparing healthy food and growing edible produce through workshops based around the Garden. It will be an accessible entry point for the local community to become familiar with the CEC and its other educational programs.

$9,919.71

Tuggeranong Link Community Houses and Centre’s Inc

Our Cooinda Sensory Garden

This project will provide a safe and welcoming space for local families and residents to meet and participate in the creation of a peaceful sensory garden for all to enjoy. A large component of the project includes the repurposing and recycling of materials and the propagation and sharing of plants. Particular activities will be designed for the children to also have the opportunity to create garden décor for their garden and learn about growing plants from cuttings and seeds.

$8,882.71

Franklin School Parents and Citizens

Franklin Farm Community Garden

This garden aims to be a sustainable, accessible garden that will be a gathering place to foster social inclusion and where a culturally diverse community can exchange knowledge and ideas. Long term, Franklin Farm aspires to be a demonstration hub for actions that can be taken to show how circular economy can be achieved at a local level; actions that can be taken to contribute to carbon sequestration and pollinator plant population; and what communities can do to minimise emissions in a community garden setting. The community room adjacent to the garden, will also be used for workshops to actively promote this knowledge.

$13,922

The Owners Units Plan 939 – Phillip

Community Garden for Units Plan 939

The project will provide a garden for the residents of Units Plan 939 to enjoy. This project will enable the completion of the initial garden to include garden beds specifically for herbs and vegetables.  The garden will provide a pleasant area for residents to meet and a safe place for children to play.  It will beautify the area with flowers and provide beds for residents to grow ingredients for healthy home cooking.  It will enable recycling of green waste into compost for use in the garden.  The materials for the garden will largely be donated or and labour will be provided by residents.

$2,000

Capital Region Community Service (CRCS) – Canberra Food Forestry

Gawari Mada – Food Forest

In 2022 the Holt community established a micro-forest and a food forest at the Gawari Mada park. The food forest was established in September 2022 with the creation 6 raised garden beds. Almost a year old, the food forest has grown well with harvests being distributed to the community and many plants thriving. This project will fund new plants to infill and increase the density of the food forest. This will improve the variety of species on display in the food forest, improve the forest’s resilience, its carbon capture potential and improve the overall amenity of the food forest.

$2,192.52

Old Narrabundah Community Council (ONCC)

Roof replacement, rainwater tank and new plot materials

This project is to repair the roof of the secure tool shed. The shed contains all the tools and gardening equipment and is a place of shelter to gather and have meetings when needed. It is unsafe to use when it is raining when there is a significant OH&S risk of electric shock. This project also includes the installation of a rainwater tank and increasing the area for more garden plots.

$8,291.19

Council on the Ageing ACT

Hughes Community Garden Phase 2

This project aims to increase productivity, efficiency and community engagement in the garden. Three additional raised garden beds will provide easy access for volunteers. Installing frames to reduce predation and improve soil quality will reduce produce loss to pests. The worm farm is converting local food waste into organic fertiliser for the garden, collected by community members. Purchasing equipment will make this easier and increase involvement. Removing exotic shrubs and replacing with a community accessible herb garden and seating will improve the connectivity to a busy community hub and provide food for those in need.

$3,993

Canberra City Care – Charnwood

Additional Raised Vegetable Garden Beds

The aim of this garden is to extend its use of raised garden beds to increase productivity and provide a safer and more user-friendly experience for their volunteers, who include the elderly and people with disabilities. The project will include garden beds, drip irrigation and shade cloth. The community garden provides essential fresh fruit and vegetables that assists disadvantaged clients in West Belconnen and ACT Region. Canberra City Care receives over 400 visits per week from households in need.

$7,500