Revitalising spring

By Artemis Pattichi As self-care continues to be a highlight and a priority, spring reminds us to have fun, just be and enjoy each moment, while still taking good care of ourselves, the environment, and the community. For us this month, good care comes in the form of practical, helpful activities with a natural focus on the garden during this revitalising season. Spring came around this year (again!), as Mother Nature reminds us how we can enjoy each moment, the life springing up around us, the mood uplifting weather and almost a scent of hope in the air that comes with this naturally re-energising season. While we wait until we can bring the wider community together again for a Southbank Sustainability Group (SSG) event, there are a few ways to give yourself an excuse to go out for a bit of exercise and wellbeing in the sun. Either at your own pace or while safely interacting with other community members. Spring planting While we won’t be able to do our annual community spring planting day event this year, it’s still spring and the best time for planting! Our amazing gardening champions, Faye and Maria, along with other great SSG home gardeners, have been growing seedlings at home, soon to be planted in the community garden. Once the garden beds’ soil rests and the seedlings are ready to be outdoors, you’ll see the community garden at Boyd livening up again. While some plants will seem ready for harvesting, please follow the harvesting green stones to guide you around the garden and message or email us if you’re unsure a certain plant is ready for harvesting. We want to give these new plants a chance to grow and offer the Southbank community more locally grown organic food for longer. Letting them grow at their own pace without any harvesting is a key step for that to happen. As always, we like to share knowledge and tips with the wider Southbank community, so that it’s easier to do what we do at home. Like growing your own seeds-to-seedlings at home, even doing some upcycling in the process with egg cartons or toilet paper tubes as seedling pods. We know most Southbank units come with limited space, but there’s always space to grow some herbs or other low maintenance plants. Head to our Facebook page for a simple step-by-step video guide, created with apartment living in mind by SSG’s wonderful Sarah and Leigh. There will be more ways to get involved with the spring planting, while we stretch this annual event over a few days this year. While most seedlings are a couple of weeks away from being planted in the garden, keep an eye on our Facebook page for ways to participate in this year’s spring planting. Ready to harvest Apart from a number of tea-ready herbs and some greens, you will have noticed the big, tall, and luscious green broad bean stalks, their leaves ready for harvesting. A high source of antioxidants, nutrients and minerals, and a very easy food to cook, stir fry, or add in salads, broad beans’ leaves are often bypassed for its more obvious harvest, the bean pod. The leaves taste sweet with a slight buttery, earthy flavour, and can be eaten either raw or lightly cooked (similar to spinach). Make sure you harvest leaves by snipping them at their bottom without harming the stalk, cutting a few leaves from a few different stalks to keep the plant evenly healthy. As always, only harvest what you need for a meal and in a way that keeps the plant healthy. Please make sure you leave the flowers behind so we can all enjoy bean pods too once they grow. Watering and helping hands Now that the weather is getting warmer and sunnier, and with the new seedlings that will start springing up in the community garden, we will need more watering volunteers. As a reminder, we have a watering roster you can sign up to water on a certain day of the week at your own pace and time. Watering and gardening fall under the exercise category if you are looking for a different activity with a different pace that promotes wellbeing to add to your routine. Please email or message us on Facebook if you would like to volunteer for some watering. We also want to thank a number of you who have contacted us lately to volunteer and help both with the garden and the group’s next activities. There is always plenty to do and even more we can be doing for the Southbank community. The more people like you helping and volunteering, the better work we can do. We have a wide variety of activities that require a wide variety of skillsets and abilities, plenty of which can be done from home or at the garden. Activities like background organising and admin, communications, project management (e.g., Southbank’s first composting hub), upcoming educational activities and events, and of course, plenty of gardening. We encourage everyone from all backgrounds, walks of life, or experience to contact us if you have a bit of extra time to lend a hand while positively contributing to the community and our environmental impact. About the group A solutions-focused group of Southbankers working to bring positive change in sustainability practices and education to our neighbourhood, while building a wonderful community. Free to join. 2019 Environment Melbourne Award and KVB 2020 Sustainable Cities Environment Award winner. Reach us at [email protected] or facebook.com/SouthbankSustainabilityGroup. •