Gardeners cultivate community

Council approved a community garden in Redfern’s James Street Reserve on Monday.

The garden is the first since the introduction of the City’s Community Garden’s Policy in February.

Local resident Janet Vernon said a committee of residents has worked for about 15 months to turn an underutilised space into a more positive one.

“We thought it’d be nice to have a space where people can come together and I think all of us are interested in gardening but because of the sizes of our gardens – we’re limited by what we can grow,” she said.

Council contributed $8000 to the project as part of the Community Gardens Matching Grants Program.

City of Sydney Community Gardens Coordinator Annie Walker said the project should increase community ownership of the space.

“It’ll be communal garden beds with vegetables and herbs, and also some fruit trees along this edge. We’re going to have composting systems in there, so people can bring along their food-waste and compost,” she said.

“[There’s] lots of interest in people growing their own foods, because more and more are learning about climate change and looking at things they can do in their own homes to reduce their footprint.”

Businesses are also contributing, with Garden Life Landscapes donating plants and expertise, Birdies Garden Products giving raised garden beds, and Wax Carwash helping with watering and labour.

The site will be the City’s 14th community garden, with gardens already in Alexandria, Annandale, Glebe, Newtown, Pyrmont, Waterloo and Woolloomooloo.

Council offers free workshops on no-dig gardening, composting, worm farming, and other aspects of an ecologically sustainable lifestyle.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said Council’s community gardens program encourages people to work together to green the City.

“Community gardens give city residents, particularly children, a chance to dig and plant and watch things grow – It’s very therapeutic for city people to be able to get dirt under their fingernails,” she said.

Council’s recent Community Garden’s Policy outlines the benefits of the gardens, services and support provided by the City, the rights and responsibilities of gardeners and the process of founding new gardens.

Resident Katie Westlake was amazed at the skills base of the local volunteers, which includes three landscapers.

“I really think that it has been a binding thing for us all, and I’m sure once we get it set up and there’s a physical thing here, more people will want to come down and take part in it,” she said.

By Lawrence Bull