The community garden experience < our gardens

MAKING A START AT FIGTREE

by Sharon Williams

The Fig Tree Community Garden concept was first investigated in 1995 with the Mooroopna Community Group striving to achieve its aim of responding to the diverse needs of residents.

At this time, staff from the Department of Health and Community Services were examining ways of responding to the impact of the governments deinstitutionalisation policy. Mooroopna Secondary College was also exploring new learning opportunities for its integration students.

Representatives for all interested parties met, discussions followed with the Horticultural Therapy Association of Victoria and a proposal was prepared.

Progress, then disappointment

An empty house block next door to the Mooroopna Community Centre, owned by the City of Greater Shepparton, was selected as a suitable site.

Approval was attained from the council and preparations to remove weeds and other debris were made. A propogating igloo and shed were donated by the council upon closure of the Shepparton Council Nursery Program.

Just when it seemed as though the roots had taken hold of the Fig Tree project, staff changes at Mooroopna Community Centre and at council, as well as the tender process for the supply of plants, led to a breakdown in communication and approval needed to be sought again.

Finding a new site

The search for a new site began in November 1996.

After considering all the options, however, the Commissioners of the Shepparton Council decided to approve the original site.

This created a delay of 12 months in the development of the garden and left the committee wondering where they went wrong.

Cleaning up… again

Volunteers came in once again to clean up the block.

Negotiations with the Office of Corrections resulted in a team of workers being allocated for two days per week in January 1997.

At this time, a coordinator was appointed for the project for three hours per week for 40 weeks, funded by the Mooroopna Community Group. This was later increased to 16 hours as programming developed.

Official opening

The Fig Tree Community Garden was officially opened on the 4 August 1998.

With the help of many volunteers, the Office of Corrections and local service clubs and schools, Fig Tree has developed into what it is today.

Many changes

I have been with the Garden since May 2000. In that time, there have been many changes, not the least a change to our organisational structure - but that's another story.

Another Horticultural Therapy Garden is being established in Shepparton with a large bucket of money. The services and facilities that will be available at this new enterprise will surpass what we can offer.

Environmental education

One other notable change is the region’s acknowledgment and concern of environmental issues within its borders. So, to address the need to provide a showcase for local people to see what can be done and put these issues into perspective, the Fig Tree Community Garden planning group has decided to change our focus to that of environmental education.

We are about to embark on a new garden design to incorporate permaculture, wastewater treatment, solar energy, low water usage, native cottage style gardens and much more.

We have a four bay composting system, vegetable plots that are planted by our clients, a nursery which we will be developing and marketing in the future in an attempt to be a little more financially self sustainable and an espalier fruit tree bed, amongst other things.

A t the moment, we don't have any (wanted) animals on site but that is an area we will be looking into in the future.

Further support

In addition to the ten volunteers and the coordinator, Fig Tree is further supported by the Work for the Dole (although we prefer to call it Community Work Experience) program through Workplacement. We are now into our second project and I highly recommend this program.

The Office of Corrections is still very much involved, with another two participants to begin here in a couple of weeks.

Future exciting

The future is exciting, we are establishing a steering committee with key people in the local area to develop a proposal to establish a rural CERES type centre (CERES is a community-based environmental education, energy efficient building, community food garden and training facility in Brunswick, Melbourne) in the Goulburn Valley.

The new focus of the Fig Tree Community Garden will make it a smaller version of this vision. The seed has been sown, the roots are down, the fruit has been borne, now what will we make with it?

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PAGE UPDATED... Friday, 1 March 2002