Plant a seed grow a community

If you’ve ever plucked a homegrown, sun-drenched tomato from the vine and taken a bite, your taste buds have no doubt celebrated the rich and unmistakable flavour that comes from garden-grown food. It’s the same with the quenching crunch of cucumbers, the heady fragrance of basil, and the earthy zest of radishes. Everything you've grown yourself somehow tastes twice as sweet as anything bought from the grocery aisle. Not to mention more nutritious and lower impact than food that’s travelled from afar—perhaps even internationally—to get to your door. Australians have always been garden-lovers. Green-thumb gurus such as Kevin Heinze, Peter Cundall, Jane Edmonson, and Costa Georgiadis are household names that have all ascended to beloved national treasure status. And with recent firesand floods affecting our food-bowl farms, more and more people aremaking the decision to grow their own food. But not everyone has the space for a big garden, or even the confidence to know where to begin. Which might go some way to explaining the resurgence in interest in urban agriculture and community gardens, where people who share thesame interests can help one another with growing tips, gardening skills, and swapping their excess harvest. One such garden receiving plenty of new interest is the Baldivis Community Garden within Baldivis Grove in Baldivis, Western Australia. A Frasers Property Australia community located about halfway between Perth and Mandurah, Baldivis Grove established its community garden in 2018, thanks to the persistence of local residents and the foresight of the project’s Development Manager, Wayne Burns. “Community gardens offer people all kinds of benefits,” explains Wayne. “Aside from the opportunities for both recreational gardening and food production, community gardens are also great for the environment. Locally grown food reduces greenhouse gases produced by long distance transport. Gardens also contribute to biodiversity of species and help to support populations of pollinators.

“I would say, best of all, community gardens bring people together, creating new friendships and social bonds. That’s great forpeople’s mental wellbeing and physical health as well. We’re extremely proud and happy tohave been able to make thisspace available to the Baldivis Community Garden.”

A force of nature

Baldivis Community Garden President, Keiva Youens, points to the tight knit, yet welcoming collective of growers, who put the ‘community’ in community garden. “The garden began as a way for residents to come together and get to know each other, while having fun and learning about growing food and taking care of the environment,” says Keiva. “Over the years, our mission has evolved to teach the next generation where real food comes from, which is a wonderful reflection of the passion of our members and the fact that many of us are raising our own families here in Baldivis.” Staffed by an energetic band of volunteers, Baldivis Community Garden has become a real force of nature for community outreach and accessibility. Recently hosting students during National Student Volunteer Week, members of Buddy Up Australia—a volunteer organisation of ex-servicepeople and first responders, as well as events and programmes through national platforms like Grow it Local, the Baldivis members live and breathe their motto: ‘plant a seed, grow a community’. A collection of local businesses has thrown in their support too. Everything from signage, hessian sacks for weed mats, seeds and gardening equipment have been donated by local suppliers. Capping it all off is a decked-out 40-footshipping container provided by Frasers Property, functioning as a space to store tools, brew cups of tea, and host garden gatherings. Frasers Property Community Development Manager Michelle Mrzyglocki acknowledges that the garden has nourished a strong sense of belonging in the community and is frequently buzzing with activity and small social gatherings. “The garden definitely has its own momentum and identity.” says Michelle. “I know a lot of residents who talk about the existence of the community garden in their neighbourhood with a great deal of pride —even if they’re not members. "One of the things I love most is that the Busy Bees Childcare Centre at Baldivis Grove even has their own plot and have been able to implement a gardening programme with the littlies, helping them to understand the importance of caring for the environment.”

For more information on joining the Baldivis Community Garden, head to their Facebook page or contact Frasers Property on 13 38 38.