$1m for Community-based Gardens in the Bushfire-affected areas [28.04.2010]

The Trust has awarded $1m from the HMS Bushfires Grants fund to the Sustainable Gardening Australia Foundation (SGA). The grant, to be spread over three years, seeks to contribute to the recovery process of bushfire-affected communities by bringing the community together to address the impact of the fires on their local environment, through gardening. It will equip local groups and landowners with the skills, support and equipment to be able to work and sustain their communities most effectively and, in turn, reinvigorate their land as a community in a cohesive manner.

Aware that many of the communities affected by Black Saturday and the other 2009 bushfires face a difficult journey to re-establish and re-focus themselves, SGA’s project has three points of access to it that reflect the differing needs of individual communities and their ability, at this point in time, to engage in the project.

The project comprises three elements: to establish Communal Demonstration Gardens in four different bushfire-affected communities; to offer another six different bushfire-affected communities the opportunity to form local POD (produce, organic and diverse) Gardening Groups; and thirdly, to produce a free “how to” manual, based on the experience of trialling the Communal Demonstration Gardens which will document the processes and pitfalls of establishing these model gardens from scratch. This publication will be available to all communities across Victoria, not just those affected by bushfire.

The project contains a number of interrelated goals: integration of psychological, social and environmental outcomes for community members affected by bushfires; the development of local skills, competencies and knowledge; and an opportunity for community members to come together and contribute to a common community project and support each other as individual landowners.

Communal Demonstration Gardens differ from community gardens in that, unlike community gardens where a limited number of people are provided with plots, thereby excluding others from participation, the Communal Demonstration Garden model provides a garden that is open to all the community to use on an as-needs basis as a learning resource and a place to meet and connect with others. Some may contribute on a regular weekly basis, such as retired community members, others such as school groups may use the garden periodically. Each will contribute time according to their capacity. The community will decide for themselves what happens to the produce from the garden.

SGA’s POD Gardening Groups aim to connect neighbours together and strengthen community. People gather to meet, talk, learn and grow food, to share seeds, tools and muscle in each other’s gardens. The project is structured to create self-sustaining groups of neighbours who work together and support each other in growing produce sustainably in their backyards.

For further information about the work of Sustainable Gardening Australia, visit their website www.sgaonline.org.au