Thankfully, community gardens are bridging the gap between our collective love of gardening and lack of land.
Community gardens are flourishing across the country, there’s nearly 20 in the Hunter-Manning region alone! These shared spaces are a wonderful opportunity to cultivate green spaces in urban areas, meet new friends, and get in touch with mother nature.
The latest addition to the crop is CatholicCare’s Taree Community Garden, which operates out of the grounds of the town’s PCYC. Volunteer coordinator, Michelle Robinson, explained that CatholicCare jumped at the opportunity to get involved in the community gardens and further the great work of the Taree Community Garden group, who first established the space.
“CatholicCare was looking for ways it could build upon the success of our Community Kitchen and family services, so expanding into community gardens seemed like the natural next step,” she said.
“We’re looking at utilising the community garden in a few ways. The Taree Community Kitchen serves about 50 meals per day, so we’re constantly relying on food donations from local businesses. Now, we will use the produce grown at the Community Garden to contribute to our meals and feed those in need.”
The work of any community garden isn’t possible without a team of hardworking volunteers who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty. In addition to supplying the Taree Community Kitchen with produce, volunteers will also be able to take home what they grow!
You can find out more about how CatholicCare's Community Kitchens are using this produce to help those in need in our community here.
If you’re keen to get involved with the Taree Community Garden, contact Michelle Robinson on mrobinson@catholiccare.org.au.
You can also find a community garden near you on the Community Gardens Australia website.