New garden to get growing

SEEDS have been planted for a new community garden in Sebastopol.

Costing $320,000, the project is being coordinated by the Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre and comes following community consultation run by the City of Ballarat as part of the Spotlight on Sebastopol project.

The BNC facility on Tuppen Drive already has a small kitchen garden and the organisation’s community development officer, Sandy Darrington, said the opportunity to expand the offering was a welcome chance to build connections.

“We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Phoenix P-12 Community College to bring a space where people can come to learn, be active, socialise and relax,” she said.

“Gardening is good for you and a community garden is good for the community. We have a small kitchen garden… at BNC and we are excited to expand on this to provide a fresh produce food hub for the community.

“In addition to volunteering and educational programs, this garden aims at addressing social isolation and community wellbeing. We all saw how beneficial gardening was for people during the lockdowns.

“We are reaching out to local health practitioners to better understand the needs of their client groups and explore how our garden space and programs can be designed to support wellbeing and resilience as well.”

The new community garden is set to include beds to grow vegetables, as well as a greenhouse, an orchard, a cafe, and teaching spaces.

“It is a blank canvas at the moment, and we are asking a lot of questions of the Sebastopol community about how they want the garden to be, how might the layout work, what activities will locals enjoy, how might people like to be involved, even what it should be called,” Ms Darrington said.

Spotlight on Sebastopol is a $5 million State Government backed project. An election pledge in 2018, the funding stream has also seen more trees planted in the suburb, along with works at historic sites, and spending on community groups like BNC.