Community and School Gardens
BIEDO proudly helps coordinate the Kingaroy Community Garden. Check out the Photo Gallery from the recent Open Days.
What is the BIEDO Community and School Garden Project?
The Community and School Garden project began in early 2008 and is a joint BIEDO-School-Community initiative. All gardens are based on sustainable eco-principles from water use to waste management and building. Where possible, we use permaculture gardening processes; and all gardens are based on permaculture principles: Care for Earth, As a result, they are an excellent 'learning' site, promoting sustainable resource management and sustainable lifestyles in our communities, local businesses and regional councils. The gardens are built and maintained by children, parents, extended family, community and business volunteers etc. They promote health & fitness, healthy eating & healthy lifestyles and they offer a community space for social connectivity and relaxation e.g. aged care, respite, mother's groups, community BBQ's, festivals, etc. They also offer community recycling (carboard, green waste, paper, manure). The support, from businesses, companies and community, for these gardens has been overwhelming.
Who's Involved?
Community and School Gardens have now rolled out through 18 schools and community sites across the Inland Burnett including Wondai, Goomeri, Wheatlands, Windera, Cloyna, Crawford, Biggenden, Coalstoun Lakes, Moffatdale, Kilkivan, Kingaroy, Widgee, Eidsvold, Boynewood and Kingaroy. Three new gardens are planned in Eidsvold and Perry in 2012. The schools, and supportive community agencies such as Blue Care, R Health, Endeavour Foundation and Community Health, as well as the North and South Burnett Regional Councils are key partners and participants in the garden project. They provide land, water, volunteer labour, time and effort. Several garden partners have formed phenomenal "green teams" e.g. students & teachers who manage and care for the gardens. Family and community members, as well as local businesses regularly donate compost (paper, cardboard and green waste), manure, building materials, wire, seedlings, and tools. We estimate that each garden has attracted over $100,000 in donations of time and materials -from working bees to wheelbarrows. Increasingly, partners are building the gardens into their strategic plans, curriculum and service profiles, ensuring that the gardens add value to their core business (be it education or community health) and that they, in turn, have a long term commitment to this incredible project.
Garden Angels and Garden Action in 2012
In 2012, BIEDO appointed Prue Leng to the Regional Garden Co-ordinator role. Prue's role includes creating a strategic Action Plan for the regional garden project, as well as working with each garden to determine their priorities for 2012 (and how we can help!) Prue will also be helping to set up various 'banks' upon which all Inland gardens can 'draw'. For example, in 2012, we'll be establishing a Tool Bank (to gather old or unwanted tools from across the region to distribute to the gardens), a Seed Bank (so that gardens can share seed harvests), a Resource Bank (to enable gardens to swap materials such as wire netting, etc) and an Ideas Bank to encourage creative 'ideas swapping' between the gardens. Last year we had an amazing Scarecrow Competition, and this year we hope to launch a Harvest Comp.
BIEDO is lucky to have Terese Dalton and Maren Leng as Garden Angels, in the South and North Burnett (respectively). Terese currently visits 7 schools on a fortnightly basis to help teach the students how to look after their gardens, and provides advice on planting seeds and growing fruit and vegetables. She also provides ideas about how to use the food produced in the gardens. Maren is our new northern Garden Angel. Throughout 2012, she'll be working with 6 (ore more) gardens in the North Burnett.
We farewell our Central Burnett Garden Angel, Grace who is heading into a new adventure in 2012 (she's getting married!!!) In the short term, the Central Burnett gardens will be covered by the existing Angel team.
Garden Workshops - Growing Healthy Food: Healthy, Yummy Eating
In partnership with RHealth, BIEDO also holds regular workshops in selected garden sites. Workshops include topics such as 'Fruit and Vegie Month', 'Pasta Making' and 'Grow, Cook Eat'. For more information on when a workshop is coming to your local Garden, just check out our Events Calendar.
Over 2012, we'll be posting healthy, yummy recipes from the workshops, and from our BIEDO team on our Community Garden Face Book page: search BIEDO Community Gardens on facebook. If you 'like' our page in Feb adn March 2012, we'll send you the most scrumptious ice cream recipe based on summer fruits! We also have a range of wonderful summer mint recipes - and tips on how to grow mint at home or in your workplace.
Funding
The BIEDO Community and School Garden program has been fortunate to receive funding from:
- Blueprint for the Bush
- National Australia Bank's 'School's First'
- First place in the national FRRR/ABC Rural "Me-Change" competition 2009
Awards
The pilot project at Wondai State School has proven the 'garden approach' can survive the novelty period, and generate sustained commitment to healthy lifestyles & habits, and fundamental attitudinal & behavioural change among adults and children. The Wondai SS garden has won many awards including:
- Green & Healthy Schools Award
- Finalist in Qld Showcase awards for Excellence inInnovation
- School's First Impact Award for their partnership with BIEDO
- BMRG Schools award
