A decade of growing and giving

THE community will gather this evening (Friday, November 22) at the Grovedale Community Orchard to mark the living community project’s 10th anniversary.

The orchard is an initiative of Transition South Barwon, a community group focused on helping shift the local region toward a sustainable, resilient and happier future.

To acknowledge the milestone, the community is invited to a casual celebration at the garden, which is located at the end of Perrett Street, for an event featuring live music, guest speakers, a visual display of the orchard’s history and a shared supper.

The celebration will run from 5.30pm to 9pm.

Designed initially as an experiment, the orchard breaks from the traditional enclosed community garden format and instead sits nestled next to Grovedale Recreation Reserve unfenced, welcoming all to enjoy the space.

Nancy Donkers, who has been an integral part of the project since its beginning in 2014, said addressing food scarcity was a key factor in the orchard’s creation.

“We were thinking about the broader community. How do you start bringing in the broader community around the notion of growing things and food production?

“It had to be open and accessible to everybody.”

Everything grown on site is there for the community to take and strategically placed compost bins throughout provide a sustainable means for them to then disposed of their food waste.

The orchard lacks a watering system and does not strictly follow standard growing practices, but a highly productive garden was never the intention for the space.

Instead, the focus is on inclusivity and providing an educational resource to the community that surrounds the orchard.

“We work with what we have and we’re focusing on just the education part of it, showing people that this can be done and how it can be done.”

Over the past decade, the orchard has grown to include more than 30 fruit trees and more than 10 nitrogen-fixing trees, along with a wide variety of herbs, flowers and native plants to enhance local biodiversity.

Ms Donkers said it was wonderful to see the orchard reach the anniversary and acknowledged the hundreds of community members who have contributed to the success of the garden over the years, whether it be participating in monthly working bees, educational workshops, food swap events and other activities.

“My husband was involved too, and he’s passed away since then,” Ms Donkers said.

“There’s people who have been at the beginning, or during the journey who aren’t here anymore, but their spirit’s here.

“There’s grief along with the celebration. People come and on it goes and plenty are still benefiting.”

Looking toward the future at the orchard’s next decade, the team are hoping to encourage more community members to get involved and share in the space.

For more information about tonight’s event, head to geelongdesignweek.com.au, or to get involved in the Grovedale Community Orchard, visit transitionsouthbarwon.org.au