Community garden a step closer

Community garden a step closer

Docklands has come a step closer to achieving a community garden with the establishment of a demonstration urban agriculture project in Victoria Harbour.

A project of the Future Canvas organisation, the garden is a six-month experiment playfully called “reforestation” and is the brain-child of 25-year-old environmentalist Emily Ballantyne-Brodie.

Ms Ballantyne-Brodie said Docklanders could expect to see food grown in raised beds in a small plot on Victoria Harbour in front of Dock 5.

“It’s a demonstration in the art of being sustainable every day,” she said.  “Sustainable living is about well being and it’s about being active.  And gardening is part of that.”

“We aim to use this garden as both a wonderful source of organic food, to find out about the Docklands community opinion for a longer term garden and a community art project,” she said.

“We hope that it will become a hub for the community to gather, get to know each other, and learn a bit about how they can garden and recycle organic waste from inner-city homes.”

She said the site would be used to run programs such as composting, worm-farming, wise water use and to encourage people to think about how they acquire food.

Reforestation hopes to run environmental education programs with local businesses, primary schools and youth drop-in centres in the City of Melbourne, and work alongside existing sustainable lifestyle events such as Ride To Work Day on October 14.

“We have had amazing support from the City of Melbourne, Lend Lease and VicUrban, and we hope that we can really get to know the community while we’re here and find out what they would really love to see in a community garden,” Ms Ballantyne-Brodie said.

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