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The garden is still here for you

The garden is still here for you

By Artemis Pattichi There is no question of how challenging these times are. While our new radius is now set for five kilometres for our basic needs and movements, it’s times like these when we are lucky to have an open food garden right in the middle of our very concrete-heavy neighbourhood. A few of you reached out during the previous lockdown to tell us how you’ve appreciated having the garden in Southbank and walking to it to harvest vegies, leafy greens, and herbs for your next meal. How it was a chance to relax, destress, while getting some much-needed exercise and direct contact with nature. The garden is still here for all Southbankers to enjoy, to destress, to eat locally while feeding their environmental conscience, to have an excuse to walk around the neighbourhood for some light exercise. Winter vegies like spinach, broad beans, silver beets, and carrots are almost ready to harvest. So, keep an eye out for the green stones next to these vegies to know when they are ready for you to harvest and enjoy at home fresh! Gardening is still an available option even while our regular fortnightly meet-ups are currently postponed. We’re starting a gardening roster alongside our existing watering roster and we invite community members to join if they are looking for a different form of outdoor exercising. We’re permitted to have two people gardening at a time, while social distancing, for a maximum one hour. We’ve confirmed that gardening falls under the exercising category. While things are slowing down, we will continue to work on the projects we have on the go. More particularly, five educational workshops and Southbank’s first community composting hub. We’ve also been in contact with the Melbourne Knowledge Week (MKW) team, about our participation in the 2021 line up. While its format might change, we are likely to keep both of our MKW activities: A guided garden tour ending with an upcycling workshop where participants will walk away with their creation; and a self-guided tour where people can learn more about the group and garden’s history while learning how they can create similar action-focused communities in their lives. Our volunteers are our greatest asset and what makes this group a force of change. People of all backgrounds and walks of life are always welcome to join our group. If you are interested in gardening, sustainability in general, becoming a part of the community, or are looking for a new exercising activity, you are welcome to volunteer with us. It’s free to join and people can put in as much or as little time as they can. No prior experience is necessary. About the group A solutions-focused group of Southbank residents working to bring positive change in sustainability practices and education to our neighborhood, while building a wonderful community of like-minded people. 2019 Environment Melbourne Award winner • Reach us at: [email protected] or facebook.com/SouthbankSustainabilityGroup

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