Girrawheen Community Garden gets the green thumbs up

The garden was officially launched during an open day attended by Wanneroo Mayor Tracey Roberts on Saturday 27 February.

The upkeep of the garden will now be managed by a committee comprising local residents and gardening enthusiasts.

Wanneroo Mayor Tracey Roberts said the City would continue to support the committee by building their capacity to ensure the long-term success of the garden.

“This project demonstrates the importance of community collaboration,” Mayor Roberts said.

“The garden is furnished with colourful benches created by the children of Hudson Park Primary School and stepping stones painted by students from Girrawheen High School, which reflects the shared community involvement in the project.

“The committee has also received monetary support and essential supplies from other local groups, including the Girrawheen Lion’s Club and the Wanneroo Community Men’s Shed.”

Committee Chairperson and Girrawheen local, Wendy Newson, said she and her husband learned of the garden initiative at an information session at Girrawheen Library.

“We both have an interest in gardening and we grow fruit and vegetables at home,” she said.

“The garden really brightens up and beautifies the area, and it has brought people together to talk about plants. We are already having good success with zucchini, and we are growing rockmelon, lettuce, sweet potato and some fruit.

“Depending on how it goes, we may look at setting up a stall and sharing the produce with members of the community down the track.”

Mrs Newson said interested locals were welcome to attend one of the committee’s regular meetings, or weekend ‘busy bee’ sessions, to learn more about how to get involved.

“We have a big multicultural community here in Girrawheen. I hope we can get lots of community members to come along and share what they know,” she said.

“There’s potential there to widen our understanding of different plants and produce.”

Construction on the collaborative project was managed by Perth City Farm and local community members with support from the City of Wanneroo.

Perth City Farm’s Emma Slavin said community gardens provided wonderful opportunities for people to connect, not just to each other but to nature.

“Green spaces like this allow people to learn about growing food, and to share the harvests with each other,” she said.

“They activate and beautify spaces for locals and visitors to enjoy, and provide habitat for wildlife and greater biodiversity overall.”

The garden boasts a healthy mix of edible produce, fruit trees and flowering Australian native plants, such as rosellas and kangaroo paws.

The Girrawheen Community Garden was funded by the State Government’s ‘Local Projects, Local Jobs’ initiative as a result of advocacy from the City and the local member for Girrawheen.

To find out more and to get involved, search ‘Girrawheen Community Garden’ on Facebook or email [email protected].