Winter Garden Weekend brings bushfire & drought affected community together
Engaging new participants & partnerships in Landcare activities
Community Participation - LP008-009
The issue
The 2019-2020 bushfires had a devastating impact upon the Glen Innes region following 18 months of intense drought, challenging the community physically and mentally, as well as hindering opportunities for social interaction. This project aimed to host two garden events in the Torrington and Glen Elgin regions which were directly impacted by bushfire, bringing together community members in a laid back environment where they could catch up with friends old and new, whilst also enjoying learning garden design tips from leading industry experts.
The solution
GLENRAC organised a winter garden weekend to take place across the 2021 June long weekend in two gardens that were directly impacted by bushfire: ‘Rosedale’, the home of Rob and Cath Wheatley at Stannum, and ‘Whinstanes’, the home of Pete and Ros Alexander at Skeleton Creek. Both events included a presentation and garden tour by gardening author and Gardening Australia presenter alumni Meredith Kirton, as well as talks by local nursery owners and experts Sarah Caldwell from Mole Station Native Nursery at ‘Rosedale’, and Pam Youman from Black Mountain Nursery at ‘Whinstanes’. The local NSW Department of Primary Industries Recovery Support Officer Jane Munro also chaired both events.
The impact
More than 260 people from all facets of the region turned out to enjoy the garden weekend events, highlighting the joy of gardening and its important role in recovery after devastating events, as well as how important it is for people in rural communities to have opportunities for social interaction. Many of these attendees had previously never attended a GLENRAC event before and more than 30 new memberships were acquired from the weekend. Landcare Program funding allowed time for GLENRAC staff to design two unique events never hosted before in the region, and engage with new partnerships such as the DPI Local Recovery Support Officer, Meredith Kirton, Black Mountain Nursery, Deepwater Public School P&C and Glen Innes Pony Club. Local small businesses were also supported at the event, with crafters Carmel Yeoman, Allana Price and Bridget Brummell supplying handmade gifts for the presenters and gift vouchers to the Garden Patch Nursery in Glen Innes awarded as lucky door prizes. The Glen Innes Examiner and Country Leader newspapers profiled photo galleries from these community events.
Key facts
- More than 260 people attended the Winter Garden Weekend, many of them new to GLENRAC events
- New partnerships were fostered with the NSW DPI Local Recovery Officer, Meredith Kirton, Black Mountain Nursery, Deepwater Public School P&C and Glen Innes Pony Club