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PERTH SEEMS A LONG WAY from the rest of Australia, yet despite the distance the west coast harbours some strong, old community gardens and exciting young networks. 

So, its time to break the silence! Here’s a quick guide to your next community garden holiday in the west.

Growing WA communities

Chris Byrne takes us on a tour of...
community gardens and sustainability centres in the West

Imagine... two mega-networks getting together and joining resources to promote community gardens across the state. This is a project that combines the energy of Learning Centre Link (the peak body for Learning Centres and Community Houses) and the WA Community Garden Network (WACGN — an association for city farms, community gardens and similar projects) with extra support from key, local governments and disability support services. 

The project will start in 2007 by using existing teleconferencing and regional networks to do a comprehensive survey of existing and potential community gardens in WA. It will then seek to produce some useful links, tools, and resources for everyone to use:

• a map of community garden projects in WA
• an information kit/starter pack for establishing community garden projects
• information forums for communities/organisations/groups
• online and downloadable resources for people involved in community gardens
• a WACGN web site with web-based networking tools.

The project will aim to build stronger links between learning centres and community gardens, while marketing the social/health/enviro benefits to key stakeholders including local government, state government agencies and business. 

Contact WACGN, email the member’s listserver: wacgn@wacgn.bur.st
For information about the project, email Chris Byrne: cbyrne@swan.wa.gov.au

WA School Kitchen Garden Program

School children learn about plants at City Farm Perth’s Kitchen Garden Program

In September 2006, City Farm Perth established a school kitchen garden (SKG) program, which aims to increase children’s consumption of fruit and vegetables by providing information, resources, guidance and facilitation support for school communities to establish and maintain school food gardens, school kitchens and an integrated SKG learning program. 

The program is a joint initiative of City Farm Perth, the South Metropolitan Public Health Unit, the Child and Adolescent Community Health Division, Foodbank WA and the Sustainable Schools Initiative.

In the school context, the SKG program provides physical environments and opportunities where school students can participate in growing, harvesting, cooking and eating fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables in the school grounds, with the aim of developing healthy eating habits, a love of food, an understanding of ecology and knowledge of where food comes from.

In November 2006 City Farm Perth undertook an internet based ‘school food garden’ survey, which was sent out to 160 primary schools. The results are helping to inform a Healthway Pilot Project submission (six schools) and another six-school cluster within the South Metropolitan health region. 

We are currently working on school curriculum development and securing funding for this program to meet the demand from schools.

We receive constant requests for farm tours, information and financial support from primary schools wanting to incorporate food gardens and kitchens into the school grounds and curriculum framework. 

Contact: Program Manager, Clayton Chipper: 089 331 6390  or 0422 960 191; schoolgardens@westnet.com.au

Perth City Farm – the organic centre of town

Perth City Farms, a multi-purpose sustainability centre close to the city

Take a short walk from Perth’s CBD and you find yourself in an inner-city bush oasis of art and organic gardens.

Perth City Farm started in 1992 as a environmental resource centre and has grown into a spectacular demonstration site for green city living. The venue is located next to the Claisebrook railway station, only 200m from Northbridge, the city entertainment precinct.

The vision of Perth City Farm is to achieve P.E.A.C.E. (Permaculture, Education, Arts, Community and Enterprise). The venue hosts an incredible variety of programs which reflect each of these themes. 

The philosophy of the Perth City Farm is simple: ‘We plant trees to help people grow’. The project is built on the foundation of making people welcome.

The Perth City Farm has several key features:

• organic growers market every Saturday, 8 am to 12 Noon
• regular festivals such as the infamous Harvest or Tomato fringe fests
• horticultural therapy programs
• learning and volunteering opportunities most days of the week.

Perth City Farm: 08 9325 7229     www.cityfarmperth.org.au

Piney Lakes – combining community garden and wetlands ... cautiously

Piney Lakes Community Garden is located in the south of Perth in the centre of a culturally significant and environmentally sensitive reserve.

The site offers an escape from suburbanity. It’s where you might catch glimpses of the occasional Quenda (Southern Banded Bandicoot), bobtails, snakes, frogs and a wonderful variety of birds that flock to Piney Lake to get reprieve from the heat and drought conditions. 

There is a strong sense of responsibility in gardening so close to sensitive water systems and Piney Lakes is keen to hear from other projects around Australia who manage similar concerns.

On March 17, Piney Lakes Environmental Education Centre hosted Envirofest, with a range of ‘Garden Ramblers’ on hand to discuss herbs and get you started.

Information:  Erin — erinwhitfield@optusnet.com.au

FERN – painting the port green

FERN started in 2004, born from the coffee and vibrant counterculture of Fremantle with a vision of engaging the community in all aspects of sustainable living. FERN can be found on the corner of High and Montreal Street, just minutes from the cosmopolitan hub of central Fremantle.

Current features at FERN include:

• weekly, Tuesday night community ‘organic feeds’ to approximately 50 to 70 members of the larger Fremantle community; each month a film with a sustainability focus is screened
• workshops and community support in water efficient technologies including demonstrations, interpretative signage and community workshops
• a range of green workshops, from biodynamics to slow-food cooking, Italian-style
• programs in development, including an Edible Schools Program, out-of-classroom education for margnialised young people and a Sustainable Streets program (a competition between neighbours in their streets to see who can have the least impact — great for building community capacity too).

For more information about FERN: www.fern.org.au
admin@fern.org.au

Gumnuts – investing in environmental playspace

Gumnut gardeners work in their Permaculture garden

Nestled in the foothills of Perth, the Gumnuts community includes community gardeners, playgroups, woodturners and a range of community groups.

The garden exists on the healthy sweat of its happy volunteers and monthly workshops.

Current projects include:

• development of an ‘integrated garden/playspace’ with the help of a $50,000 grant and support from the City of Swan; this is to create an area which is play-friendly, productive and involves the whole community
• Permaculture gardens and water technologies
• planning for regular festivals, film nights and community events.

The site can be found on Mudalla Way in the heart of Koongamia. Information: Narelle Chambers 08 9250 3302.

Lockridge Community Garden — food security and reconciliation

Located in the multicultural eastern suburbs, the LCGP has a strong focus on reconciliation and bringing together the diverse cultural stories of local residents. This work happens with the development of relationships through the garden and through special projects, such as:

• Story Trail — which includes mosaic and interpretive signage by local Aboriginal artists, schools, and community
• Harmony Food Festival — connecting cultural food lessons at the local community house with the construction of an onsite pizza oven and multicultural pizza fair.

LCGP is a partnership between key local residents, the Anglican Church, Brockman Community House and others. The vision for the LCGP is to provide a space where people can ‘cooperate, transform, produce, empower and celebrate”. 

Information: Harry Wykham    harrybw@iinet.net.au

Earthwise Community – no funding, timetables or classes

Earthwise is located on Bagot Road in Subiaco, an inner suburb of Perth.

The garden surrounds a decommissioned pink church which houses an op-shop, low-cost food centre and community meeting/eating space.

After 11 years the fruit trees are bearing well and offering plenty of shade and interest.

Features of Earthwise Community include an outdoor pizza oven, solar powered fountain and a nine metre dragon perched in the eucalypts, which all add to the ambience.

Earthwise currently receives no on-going funding and relies on weekly working bees (Friday mornings) to keep the gardens producing.

Other regular activities include twice-weekly feeds and monthly ‘open-mic’ music nights.

Earthwise has a history of working alongside other support services including local youth accommodation and mental health groups. However, the biggest strength of the Earthwise space is to act as a conduit to those who feel they often don’t fit in to other community activities. As someone said, ‘there are no timetables and classes... it makes it more real’.

Information: Peg Davies 0422 941 492
pegd@westnet.com.au

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PAGE UPDATED... Tuesday, 17 July 2007