HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

Lakeside Drive Community Garden (LDCG) keeps thriving with new workshops and involvement by community groups. Who would have thought that the dream by a group of university students in 2008 to develop a permaculture based garden as a resource for educating about sustainability could be such a social and practical reality nine years later!

LDCG has been part of the sentinel program to reintroduce bananas into Darwin after the eradication of the biodiversity threat, banana freckle. In April we had a workshop to show how to build a banana circle for best use of space, water, and fertiliser. This was very hands on.

Other workshops (which are now supported by a City of Darwin grant) have been to educate about edible wet season plants, wicking beds, hugelkultur, making art from your garden, bicycle to your garden, natural fertilisers and weed control. Lakeside Drive Community Garden also volunteered in the collection of compost at the Nightcliff Seabreeze Festival and Transition Film Festival this year, diverting 120 kg of food scraps and waste into compost for the garden.

In the garden we have a border into the riparian zone that leads into Rapid Creek. We are working with Conservation Volunteers Australia and other groups to manage the Coffee Bush infestation alongside the mangroves. A project with the Green Army is helping with revegetation, mainly of native food plants for people, and the Black-footed Tree Rat. Trees were donated by Greening Australia, and planted and regularly watered by the Green Army. The ever dependable job seekers from the Work For the Dole program have been the backbone of keeping all these projects active.

We were very happy to welcome visitors from childcare centres. This month we also had undergraduate education students completing the unit ECU301 History and Geography Pedagogies visit with Janice Crerar to talk about the activities and integrating practical activities in teaching programs. Some of their quotes are included below.

“I did find it useful and it’s great to see a program thriving as a community driven garden where the people predominantly decide on the flow and what is developed in the area.”

“It was a privilege to visit the Lakeside Community Garden and see what the Alawa community has been able to achieve there.”

“It’s a place we can teach and learn from primarily as a hands on educational tool that is specific to Australia mainly Darwin and the NT.”

“I was excited to hear about the garden's future plans, and hope that CDU can strengthen its relationship with the garden, as there is so much to be learned there.”

“We enjoyed the visit and having a knowledgeable guide made the visit worthwhile.”

“Tasting the fruit straight from the trees was a great experience.”

“I really enjoyed seeing and hearing about permaculture in such a nice setting.”

We have workshops at the garden on the first Sunday of each month from 8.30 - 10.30am. Come down and join in. Join our mailing list, like us on Facebook - www.facebook.com/lakesidedrivecommunitygarden, or visit our website - http://ldcg.cdu.edu.au/. We would love to have more CDU staff and students involved.