LENAH VALLEY COMMUNITY GARDEN

Lenah Valley Community Garden is located at 42 Creek Road Lenah Valley, near the creek and park lands, and is managed by Sustainable Living Tasmania. It is divided into plots which are leased to participants for the cost of their Sustainable Living Tasmania membership. 

This garden is full of productive beds and is next to the tracks which are used by dog walkers, exercisers and families. On the hill across the creek there is even an old farmhouse and paddock full of sheep. It seems like a busy garden and there are often several people working in the space. It is fenced off and accessed by a combination guarded padlock. 

Membership fees are as follows:

		1 year		3 years
Single		$30		$75
Concession		$11		$30
Family		$40		$100
Organisation		$60		$160

This membership also includes a subscription to Linkup newsletter, a 10% discount for their bookshop and membership of the Environment Resource Centre. I had a plot in this space when I lived in an apartment and found it was primarily people just doing their own thing without any specific community focus around the garden. This is fantastic if you are looking to simply have a space to grow your own food and enjoy some peace in the outdoors but not so much if your desire is for something more social.

Sustainable Living Tasmania also runs a garden in Nubeena Crescent, Taroona which I am yet to visit. 

For more information you can contact the garden manager David Stephen on 62278390. 

 SOURCE COMMUNITY WHOLEFOODS

 Source, a garden and shop on the Sandy Bay Campus of The University of Tasmania was started by a group of volunteers.

It combines a garden, working to some extent on permaculture principles, and a food co-op where both bulk and fresh groceries can be purchased along with daily lunches. Some of the vegetables such as lettuce and silver beet can be selected and picked straight from the soil before purchase which I feel is a lovely idea.

On an often busy campus and on days full of power point lectures and fluorescent lights, it is a pleasant escape providing a place to go and spend some time with a picnic table in the sun, a few inside seats and a shady balcony below vines with tables and couches and a view of the garden beds.

Lunches made with garden produce and other local food is sold Monday to Friday from 12.30pm until sold out.

Run by and relying on volunteers, they hold monthly working bees on the first Saturday of the month from 9am til 1pm ending with shared food (take something along to share) and sometimes the wood fired pizza oven gets fired up to create home made pizzas.

Future plans for the garden include planting olive and nut trees, creating a frog pond, a shady hang-out spot and many more food and flower plants!

 A worm farm and compost bins allow for recycling of nutrients and the chooks (sweet looking fluffy headed bantams) also eat scraps and provide eggs for cooking (and sometimes for sale).

If you choose to become a member, it costs $25 waged and $18 unwaged for the year. With this, you get a 20% discount when you shop in the co-op. You can also volunteer and become an 'active member'. If you volunteer for 4 hours a month you will receive a 30% discount on food.

           

https://sourcewholefoods.org.au/

Introduction

I am starting this blog as part of a course in Community Engagement. I initially intended to get involved in a community garden, learn about its processes, grow some food and distribute it through Second Bite (an admirable group that spreads left over food from supermarkets, bakeries and other shops throughout the community to people who are struggling).

However, with limited time, I have decided this wasn't really feasible. Instead, while researching community gardens initially, I found there was no simple list of all the community gardens in Hobart, so I am now attempting to fill this gap with a list, contact details, some information and some pretty photos of gardens (just to make it more fun for me).

So, here we go. Wish me luck! :)

ps - if you are interested in knowing more about second bite, or getting involved or donating, their web site is http://secondbite.org/.