Community gardens are places where people

come together to grow food and other plants,

to learn new skills, meet other people, form

meaningful connections with one another and

be part of their local community.

The most important ingredient in Community

Gardens is you!



Would you like to grow fresh, healthy

food but don’t know where to start?



Would you like to grow produce with

others and share it in your local area?

Brimbank City Council is committed to

improving the health and wellbeing of our

community. Growing food can help improve

food security, promote healthy eating, increase

physical activity, build community connections

and enhance opportunities for sustainable living.

There are many ways that residents can get

involved with growing food. We have developed

this guide to help our residents explore

opportunities in the City of Brimbank.

A Guide to Community Gardening in Brimbank

3

For those wanting to grow food at home, many

resources are available to help.

My Smart Garden

is an online resource full of

information, ideas, events and free resources that

can help you grow food at home.

Sustainability Victoria

provides a step by step guide

to establishing a food garden at home.

Sustainable Gardening Australia

has lots of helpful

resources such as videos and articles on their website.

Council delivers a range of programs related to growing

food and the environment in community facilities such

as libraries, neighbourhood houses and community

centres. Explore our

Library websites

for more

information or check out

https://learning.brimbank.

vic.gov.au/

for details of low cost and no charge

classes and programs on cooking and sustainability.

Council staff in our libraries, neighbourhood houses and

community centres can help you explore the internet

and find the information you need including how to grow

food in small spaces (even on

balconies!

).

For local residents, Council provides discounted compost

bins and worm farms that can be sent to your home

through the

Compost Revolution

program. Learn all

you need to know about composting, worm farming or

using a bokashi bin in only 10 minutes.

4

A Guide to Community Gardening in Brimbank

Growing food in schools helps children understand

where food comes from and learn life-long skills in

composting, caring for plants and creating healthy

nutritious meals.

School

kitchen garden programs

provide access

to food growing and environmental education for

young people. Many young people at school in

Brimbank have access to growing spaces and

some have established kitchen gardens.

Council supports schools’ environment and

sustainability through:

•

Quarterly school bulletins:

online newsletters

promoting upcoming environmental workshops

and events, competitions, grants and awards as

well as online tips and resources for teachers.

Sign up here

.

•

Online resources:

check out Council’s

Schools

Education webpage

for presentations on

topics such as biodiversity, energy, waste and

recycling, water and sustainable systems as well

as other online resources, fact sheets and links.

•

Commercial worm farms:

to support

schools reducing food waste and support food

growing and learning, Council offers schools

a subsidised

. Contact

the Environmental Education Officer for

details on

.

•

Support and advice:

Council provides

information to help with your environmental

school project. Make an enquiry using our

online request form

.

•

Brimbank Teacher

Environmental

Network:

Council

offers professional

development for

teachers, support

staff, parents

and volunteers. Meetings may involve

networking at a local host school, including

a sustainability tour, or webinars to enable

teachers to participate remotely. Register

through the Quarterly school bulletin.

•

Vegetable seedlings:

Working with

the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, Council has

offered participating schools punnets of

seedlings free of charge for students to

plant, harvest and cook. Keep an eye out for

updates in the Quarterly school bulletin as

we hope to offer this program again in

spring this year.

A Guide to Community Gardening in Brimbank

5

There are several established community gardens

in Brimbank.

Council’s Westvale Community Centre Garden in

Kings Park has 50 garden plots of various sizes used by

individuals and community groups. Some of these are

used to garden and grow food collectively.

Westvale also manages 33 garden plots at the Padley

Park Community Garden in St Albans. The current model

allows community members to hire plots for private use.

If you’d like to know more, contact

westvale@brimbank.vic.gov.au

or call

.

Some of Brimbank’s neighbourhood houses and

community centres have small food growing spaces

and facilities depending on the time of year and the

programs being delivered. The

website

is updated

regularly so keep an eye out for opportunities and

make contact with your local centre or follow them on

Facebook

or

Instagram

(@bccneighbourhoodhouses).

Kororoit Creek NH community garden

(KCNH) is

next to Selwyn Park in Albion and has a mix of garden

beds, including some edible native plants. The garden

is open to the community to visit to see what’s growing

or pick some fresh produce to take home. You can

also join as a garden volunteer and help maintain and

develop the gardens at KCNH.

6

A Guide to Community Gardening in Brimbank

There are a number of things to consider in

developing a new Community Garden.

•

Who will be involved in the garden? While it

is an exciting idea, starting and maintaining a

Community Garden does take work and you will

need help in getting it off the ground. Working

effectively over time to keep it going means

having a group with roles and responsibilities

in some sort of structure.

•

Where will your Community Garden be? There

are many things to consider in finding a good

site that is accessible to the community including

location, local facilities such as toilets and how

the space is currently used.

•

Who owns the land and are there restrictions

on its use, for example as a conservation area

or a dog park?

•

Is the soil safe and suitable for food growing

and if not, are soil barriers or raised beds

possible? How much space is needed for the

garden? Is there a way to access water on site

and does it get direct sunlight most of the day?

•

What resources will you need to develop a

Community Garden? Is there enough people

power and financial support? Do you need money

to purchase items and equipment? If you apply

for funds, will you need an auspicing body?

The following websites offer great information

and advice about the steps involved.

3000acres

3000acres

are a Melbourne based not-for-profit

that provide advice and resources to help groups

with the skills and knowledge needed to grow

fresh healthy food. If your group needs help with

incorporation or needs an auspicing body, 3000

Acres can assist. Check out their guide to starting

a new community garden

here

.

Australian City Farms and Community

Gardens Network

ACFCGN

are a national group that provide a

range of resources on improving or establishing

community gardens.

Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA)

SGA

have a huge number of resources for

home gardeners, professionals and community

gardeners alike. They have produced a

manual

with templates and guides for every stage of the

community garden establishment process.

Happy gardening!

For more information, please contact the

Growing Brimbank Program Facilitator

on

.

As we all want to be healthy and well,

it is always a good idea to check that

your soil is suitable for food growing.

Environment Victoria has information

to help you find out about when and

how to test your soil:

www.environment.vic.gov.au/

sustainability/victoria-unearthed/

about-contamination/testing-for

contamination