Garden growing grassroots bonds

NESTLED between the rear entrance of Barkly Square and the Ballarat Welcome Centre, about half a dozen garden beds are clustered together with a purpose not immediately known to passersby.

Established during COVID lockdowns between Food is Free and the Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council as a response to food insecurity, the space is the result of the Grow and Thrive Garden project, in which Sheilagh Kentish serves as team leader.

She said a recent exchange of plant seeds between friends drove one of the project’s key points home for her.

“A friend of mine grew up some hyssop from seed and she gave me some plants and I’ve just harvested some seeds

from it.

“I thought I’ll do a little research for when the seeds need to be planted and it turns out it’s a Middle Eastern plant that grows all over the place.

“I thought it was a northern European thing, but in the research I’ve done on how to propagate things I’ve learned so much about where these different plants have come from.

“It links in well with the groups we’re working here.”

With the aim of involving the region’s multicultural communities, the project started with participants learning how to grow tomatoes, before expanding to include herbs, okra, and greens.

The garden space has grown to incorporate food from cultures such as Pakistan, Kuwait, India, China, Korea, and Sudan.

“It was about growing food, nourishing families, but also bringing people together,” Ms Kentish said.

An additional large garden bed is also located at the Ballarat Community Garden as part of the project.

Food is Free founder and director Lou Ridsdale said she’s keen to develop the space further with other assets at Barkly Square.

“The fact the [new Indigenous] yarning garden’s mere metres away, we’ve had discussions about doing an intercultural garden so mob can hopefully learn from multicultural groups and vice versa.

“There’s a great opportunity with the commercial kitchen as well to combine the two and see what we come up with.

“It’s a great conduit to have everyone learn from each other and feel safe.”

With a core team of about half a dozen volunteers maintaining the garden, some weekend workshops are being planned to continue garnering interest.

Ms Ridsdale said it was important for everyone to remember the garden is there for the whole community to utilise.

“Anyone is allowed to come and pick food from the garden beds. It’s available 24/7 and it’s culturally appropriate.

“Even if people don’t want to be involved in the garden beds they can let us know what they want to eat and grow and we can plant it, that’s no problem.”