Have you ever wanted to grow your own food and plants, meet other people, form meaningful connections with one another and be part of the local community?
Then the answer may be to get involved in community gardening, where you can grow fresh healthy food or grow produce with others and share it in your local area.
Brimbank Mayor, Cr Ranka Rasic said 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.
"That is why we have developed a new Guide to Community Gardening in Brimbank to help our residents look to the future, explore opportunities for growing food and expand their knowledge on sustainability," Cr Rasic said.
"It's a great little resource to link you with what is available and where to go for information.
"For many of us, life in recent months has essentially been at home due to the coronavirus crisis, and now that it is safer to move around the community again, it may be the perfect time to join a community garden, get some inspiration and connect with others."
The guide also provides plenty of tips on how to start a new garden, including what to consider to get you going and organisations to tap into for specific information.
Likewise, to grow food at home – whether in a yard or on a balcony – the guide provides easy to find resources.
It also covers growing food at school and will help children understand where food comes from, learn life-long skills in composting, caring for plants, creating healthy nutritious meals and developing sustainable habits.
"We've seen a recent surge in community interest in sustainability initiatives and people planting their own veggie patches during these COVID-19 times, and we're hoping this keeps up momentum," Cr Rasic said.
Brimbank has established community gardens at Council's Westvale Community Centre in Kings Park and Padley Park in St Albans. Some neighbourhood houses and community centres have small food growing spaces and facilities that will be available again in the future, depending on the time of year and the programs being delivered.
