"I think communal gardening is just so much more than simply gardening in a group." - Saide Gray

A small town in Victoria decided to start a community garden as a place to encourage better nutrition and healthy exercise, based on the use of a wide range of fruit and vegetables in diverse types of garden. While formal impact is difficult to measure, the garden has enjoyed great success and is being emulated elsewhere in Australia. Diversity of diets has increased.

Lessons Learned

1. Local participation in planning and implementation is crucial, with good democratic community practices at every stage.
2. Link learning opportunities to social activities and shared garden work.
3. Support and involvement from different levels of government (state, local, community) are necessary to engage a wide range of stakeholders.
4. Demands on volunteers’ time can make coordination and administration difficult.
5. Costs of water and rent for land must be met every year.

Problem

Newstead is a small town about 110 km northeast of Melbourne, Australia. Population has been increasing steadily since the early 1980s, mostly older people in retirement. The retirees often suffer “lifestyle” diseases such as cardiovascular illness, diabetes, frailty and impaired cognition, and often lack family support. Government support is lacking too. Coupled with this, a decade of drought and subsequent ban on the use of water for gardening contributed to a lack of nutrition diversity and declining health.

The Project

The project began with a planning meeting in 2008, called by Newstead 2021 an NGO established to coordinate and support community projects. People agreed that a community garden would benefit the town. A local branch of Seed Savers Network was an early partner, donating seeds and expertise in seed saving and seed sharing. The Community Garden consists of a mix of individual plots and community plots deliberately designed to ensure a wide diversity of crops and varieties and gardening strategies. Regular workshops help to broaden participants’ experience and knowledge of gardening and nutrition. Shared meals in the garden are another avenue for building interest and participation and widening knowledge of nutrition and how best to prepare food. Some of these meals are simple, informal sharing and swapping events, others more formal and organized with a specific agenda.

Impact

The Community Garden has resulted in several changes in behaviour among participants and others, many of which help to offset the significant economic disadvantages of the region.

• A greater variety of different fruits and vegetables is being grown and consumed in the community.
• Gardening has become a popular pastime, particularly among retirees and children.
• Awareness of nutrition and effective use of water to grow food has increased.
• Excess food from the garden is shared in a regular and frequent Produce Exchange.
• Produce not shared is offered to local eating establishments and community members who need assistance.
• Produce Exchange has catalysed other community endeavours, including a desire to become the first 100% renewable energy town in Australia.