Nabiac Community Garden
Community building with food gardening in Nabiac
Community Participation - LP039-002
The issue
Nabiac has faced significant changes with the once thriving local dairy industry replaced with an influx of both older “tree changers” and younger entrepreneurial landholders undertaking farmstays and mixed horticulture.
The Community Strategic Plan identified a lack of facilities for older people, and a lack of facilities and services to support young people. It also identified that difficulties like these could be ameliorated by the great opportunities inherent in the natural and social capital of their small rural village.
A community garden had long been a dream of locals, as part of their strategic vision for a vibrant, well-connected rural community.
The solution
Working with our partners at Nabiac Community Centre who host our office, Karuah & Great Lakes Landcare successfully applied to the FRRR’s Small Grants for Rural Communities program.
The initial plan with our limited funding was for a quite basic garden, but with community support and donations, including bullnose roofing material, a water tank, bulk sawdust, drip irrigation materials, seedlings and rootstock, a water pump and plumbing services, and even the use of a small tractor, the vision grew! To date we have eight raised beds with crop protection and fully reticulated rainwater irrigation, eight fruit trees, and a well-stocked garden shed.
The impact
The community garden, sited behind the thriving community Op-Shop, has established itself as a fixture at the Nabiac Community Centre.
A core group of garden volunteers meets and works weekly, and Op-Shop visitors are welcome to visit and nibble. Op-Shop volunteers are encouraged to enjoy garden goods.
MidCoast Council has supported us to create a community composting hub based at the garden by supplying compost bins and scrap collection buckets and providing a presenter for a “Scraps to Soil” composting workshop.
The garden strengthens Landcare’s connection with the Nabiac Community Centre and the broader Nabiac community.
Learnings
Community projects benefit greatly from careful consultation and a flexible plan to maximise participation and leverage community enthusiasm.
Water self-sufficiency is a garden life-saver in case of drought and water restrictions.
Key facts
- 3 community working bees in establishment phase
- 18 attendees at composting workshop
- Dedicated core group of 4 volunteers
- Still going strong through drought and pandemic lockdown