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GUIDELINES - Waterloo Community Garden

by Rhonda Hunt

This is a document produced by Waterloo community gardeners outlining participant responsibility and regulations for the use of the community garden. Rhonda is a community worker presently working in community waste education with South Sydney Council.

Waterloo Community Garden is a place where local residents are welcome to come and be.

They can be involved by:

• having a plot or by gardening in the communal spaces
• sitting and meditating in the garden
• donating resources such as garden tools, backyard sweepings, garden clippings or kitchen scraps.

We have a philosophy of:

• organic gardening
• using compost and manures to enrich the soil.

To reduce pests we:

• use companion planting
• encourage the local bird population
• discourage cats from being in and around the garden.

As a new member of Waterloo Community Garden I agree to the following principles:

To be involved in:

• watering - either Monday, Wednesday and Friday or when you are available
• organisation - attending meetings to talk about resolving conflict in the garden, planning, letting other members know about what happens at the meetings, keeping the garden plan up to date
• composting - bring your food scraps to the garden, obtaining straw, leaves, grass material whenever you can
• working bees and/ or open days
• to act with respect and consideration towards other members of the garden; examples of this are: not planting tall plants in places which shade others plants and to replant any plants which are unwanted in your plot in the communal spaces in the garden; don't take anyone else's produce.
• to respect the history of the garden as an organic garden; synthetic chemical sprays and fertilisers destroy friendly insect predators; biodegradable sprays made from plants such as garlic, pyrethrum or derris (rotenone) are kind to the environment and break down after 48 hours leaving no harmful residues; these are to be used as a last resort to get rid of pests (not routinely); companion planting and paying local children to destroy snails are practical examples of innovative/ organic ways to get rid of pests
• to bring to a monthly meeting any concerns or issues they would like discussed
• to keep my individual plot reasonably free of weeds by laying down newspaper and mulching continuosly
• to notify the garden members should you no longer wish to be involved in the garden
• to make sure I use the communication board to notify other garden members about communal space activities and to read the communication board when I attend the garden.

Contacts (note these contacts may have changed):

• Carolyn Murray 93828374
• Rhonda Hunt 02 9288 5463.

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PAGE UPDATED... Monday, 14 January 2002