FAQ

1. What are community gardens? 
2. Where are WA's community gardens? Is there a garden near me?
3. What are the benefits of community gardens?
4. How do we start a community garden?
5. How much does it cost to grow a community garden?
6. How do we fund a community garden?
7. What grant funding is available for community gardens in WA?
8. How do we find a site for a community garden? What criteria should be used in choosing a site?
9. What are the key elements of garden design? Who can assist us with design?
10. How do we create a shared vision for our community garden?
11. How do we engage more people in an existing garden or in getting a new garden started?
12. How do we build effective partnerships to help sustain our garden?
13. Who can provide us with support to start or maintain a community garden?
14. How do we grow a successful garden? What to plant? Pest management? Seed propagation?
15. What happens with the food that is grown in community gardens?
16. How are decisions made in gardens?
17. How do we make sure people are maintaining their plots and/or communal areas?
18. What are the main safety issues in a garden?
19. Are there issues with security in community gardens? How do we deal with them?
20. What do we do about insurance?
21. How can we evaluate the success of our garden?

 

1.  What are community gardens?

Community gardens are places where people come together to grow food and community. Gardens come in different shapes and sizes, each uniquely influenced by their community and environment. There are two main styles of community gardens - communal or shared gardens, and allotment gardens. Many gardens combine the two styles.

2.  Where are WA's community gardens?  Is there a garden near me?

There are an ever-growing number of community gardens in WA. To find the one nearest you, search our garden database.

3. What are the benefits of community gardens? 

Gardeners report a wide range of benefits from their gardens including physical and nutritional health, mental health and wellbeing, environmental sustainability, food security, social inclusion, education and training, economic development, cultural vitality and community resilience.

4. How do we start a community garden?

Like all good community initiatives, community gardens start with one person having an idea, talking to a few people about it and energy and activity building from there. A great place to start is learning from others who have been involved in community gardens. Search our garden database to locate gardens to connect with and visit. You'll find plenty of helpful resources to get you started on our Resources to Download page and ideas for where to access support for your community gardening initiative under Connections, Financial Support and Consultants & Contractors. For more inspiration and ideas, visit the sites on our Links page.

5. How much does it cost to grow a community garden?

The short answer to this question is: it depends. Some gardens in Australia have been set up for $150; others have spent over $150,000 in initial establishment costs. There are gardens with minimal on-going expenses and others that have an annual turnover of around $4 million. Community gardens come in all shapes and sizes and consequently the costs associated with 'growing' them successfully (including initial construction, ongoing maintenance and further development costs) are just as varied. For more information, check out Funding Your Community Garden. See also FAQ 6 and 7.

6.  How do we fund a community garden?

Community gardens cost money to construct and maintain. The amount required varies dramatically across gardens according to their size, scale of activities and the skill base and volunteer time of their members. The best way that you can ensure your garden has sufficient income to cover your costs is to develop diverse income streams to support the garden (memberships, donations, grants, partnerships, earned income and special events). By not relying on one or two sources of income, you are more likely to be able to achieve financial self-sufficiency. For tips on successfully funding your garden, check out Funding Your Community Garden.

7. What grant funding is available for community gardens in WA?

The diverse range of activities and potential benefits on offer in community gardens, means that gardens potentially 'fit' into many grant categories - from waterwise gardening to positive ageing, waste management to unemployment training, tackling obesity to community art. This can be both a blessing and a challenge for your garden; it means you will need to spend some time identifying which grant opportunities might be relevant to community gardening, as well as weighing up the potential benefits of different grants versus the 'costs' in terms of time and energy associated with applying for them. To give you a taste of the diversity of grants your garden could apply for and for links to grant listings that may be useful, check out our Financial Support page.  

8. How do we find a site for a community garden? What criteria should be used in choosing a site?

Community gardens have been established in a wide range of places, including on Local Council owned land, within existing parks, on state government owned land, in church grounds, on unused private land, on old bowling greens, on land near railway tracks and stations and in new residential developments to name a few! There are a range of criteria to consider when selecting a site for a community garden, for example land tenure and land use zoning, soil quality, hours of sunlight, access to water and proximity to other community facilities. Locating and securing an appropriate site can take time; be patient and stick with it. Look for opportunities to build community involvement, partnerships, funds, skills and enthusiasm for your community garden whilst you are waiting to find and secure an appropriate site.  

9.  What are the key elements of garden design?  Who can assist us with design?

The most important element in designing a great community garden is to ensure the design serves your community's vision for the garden. For example, if your vision is for the garden to be a place that's welcoming and inspiring for children, then you'll want to ensure there are design features that help to achieve this (perhaps a sandpit, climbing frame, frog pond or having chooks in the garden). If education is an important part of your vision then you'll want to consider possible outdoor classroom areas. And so on. It's also important that the people who will use the garden are involved in the design process as much as possible, through use of participatory design processes.

10.  How do we create a shared vision for our community garden?

Creating a shared vision is about getting people on the same page and working towards the same goal. Undertaking a planning and visioning process for your garden will give people the opportunity to discuss and reach agreement about its purpose and therefore minimise the chance of conflict emerging about how the garden should be developed. There are a variety of ways you could engage people in creating a shared vision for your community garden. Different approaches will work better for some groups than others. You would know from your own experience whether you prefer to fill in a questionnaire, take part in a small group discussion, attend a large public meeting or perhaps participate in a creative arts-based activity. All of these approaches can be useful for generating a vision for your garden; it is a good idea to offer a few different ways for people to have input to your vision in order to ensure the process is inclusive of the whole garden community.  

11.  How do we engage more people in an existing garden or in getting a new garden started?

The question of how to engage people in your community garden is a critical one in the establishment phase of the garden and remains important as you continue along your community garden journey. People from all walks of life, backgrounds, ages and interests get involved in community gardens; there is no stereotyped 'community gardener'. Whilst gardening is a focus, community gardens are generally multi-purpose community hubs for a range of activities including education and training, playgroups, arts and creative activities, preparing and sharing food, community events and celebrations, and social enterprise. These days it is common to find people who are interested in community gardening: residing in the streets surrounding the garden; involved in the local residents' association; using the local community, neighbourhood or learning centre; in gardening clubs, organic growers' associations and slow food groups; in local environmental groups; in local services clubs; attending local playgroups; attending local churches; working for local schools and training providers; working for the Local Council or serving as a Local Councillor; and working for organisations based locally that offer services for people with mental health issues or disabilities. Your efforts to attract new people to your garden will be most effective if you use a variety of engagement strategies to help you tap into the interest and enthusiasm of these different groups of people.

12. How do we build effective partnerships to help sustain our garden?

Your garden will be strengthened through having partnerships with a diverse range of organisations and groups. Partnerships will help to bring additional people and resources to your garden and expand your supporter base. The wide appeal of community gardens means a growing number of government agencies, community organisations, businesses and community groups are actively seeking out opportunities to partner with gardens. There has really been no better time for community gardens to secure productive partnerships to help them survive and thrive. Check out the following resources for tips on how to build effective partnerships:

13. Who can provide us with support to start or maintain a community garden?

There are a growing number of individuals, groups and organisations who are interested in supporting the development of community gardens in WA. Check out our Connections, Financial Support and Consultants and Contractors pages for ideas of where to access support for your garden.

14. How do we grow a successful garden? What to plant? Pest management? Seed propagation?

Search our garden database to find out if a garden near you is conducting garden workshops and check out the following links:

15. What happens with the food that is grown in community gardens?

In allotment-style gardens, people who pay a fee to garden their own plot of land in the garden are able to harvest and use any produce that they grow. Allotment gardeners often swap and share produce with other gardeners when they have abundant harvests. The produce grown in communal (or shared) garden areas in community gardens is shared amongst those who contribute their time to maintaining or supporting the garden. Sometimes produce is harvested for a shared meal in the garden (perhaps lunch at the end of a gardening busy bee or a larger-scale harvest festival). Some gardens grow sufficient produce to be able to sell some as a way of generating funds to support the garden. It is a good idea to spell out in your garden guidelines what happens with produce, to avoid confusion or conflict amongst members.

16. How are decisions made in gardens?

Effective decision making is a critical element in a growing a vibrant and viable community garden. There are a variety of decision making structures and processes appropriate for use in community garden settings; you will need to work out what structures and processes will suit your garden. For ideas, see:

17. How do we make sure people are maintaining their plots and/or communal areas?

Community gardens with allotments (small plots of lands that people pay to garden) sometimes face issues of members not maintaining their plots and/or not contributing time to maintaining communal areas in the garden (e.g. shared garden beds, pathways, worm farming and composting systems, fruit trees and seating areas). There are some key strategies you can employ in your garden to deal with these issues: including taking people through a comprehensive induction process when they join the garden to ensure they understand their responsibilities in relation to maintenance of their own plot and communal areas; holding workshops to provide new members with the skills they need to maintain their plots; publicising agreed procedures for dealing with members who aren't fulfilling their membership responsibilities and making sure you follow-through and implement these procedures when appropriate, hosting weekly gardening days or regular busy bees when people can work together to undertake maintenance of communal areas; and inviting people to nominate to be responsible for specific maintenance tasks in the garden (e.g. turning the compost or feeding the chickens). 

18. What are the main safety issues in a garden?

It is important that your group identifies potential risks to health and safety in the garden and takes steps to eliminate or minimise these risks. The following resources provide useful tips and relevant sample documents:

19. Are there issues with security in community gardens?  How do we deal with them?

Like all community assets and facilities, occasionally community gardens are the subject of vandalism or theft. There is no greater risk of community gardens attracting vandalism, theft or anti-social behaviour than other community assets or facilities (such as parks, play equipment, community centres or skate parks). There are a number of proven strategies for minimising the risk of vandalism and theft at community gardens that can be implemented as appropriate to your garden, including: installing signage that clearly explains the purpose of the garden and who is welcome to harvest produce; designing the garden to ensure clear lines of sight into the garden; locking up tools; and building a sense of community ownership by inviting everyone to participate in the garden.

20. What do we do about insurance?

To operate a community garden you must have public liability insurance to cover any person on your site for personal injury. Other types of insurance you may need to consider for your garden include accident insurance for members and volunteers and insurances associated with employing staff. Some community gardens in WA are covered by the public liability insurance policies of their Local Council or larger organisations they are part of (for example if the garden is within the grounds of a community centre); other gardens pay for their own insurance. It may be possible for your garden to access insurance coverage through larger garden or landcare organisations such as Landcare Australia, the Royal Horticultural Society of Victoria (Australia wide) or Garden Clubs of Australia.

21. How can we evaluate the success of our garden?

It is a good idea to find ways to track the success of your community gardening initiative; this can help you to attract and retain support, partnerships and funding for your garden. For tips on evaluating your garden project, see:

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News & Events

09-07-2010

New resources available to assist community gardens

Three great new resources to support the development of community gardens have been launched. For lots of useful tips on funding your garden and building effective partnerships with education providers, as well as insights into nine key factors that help grow successful community gardens, check out:

Funding Your Community Garden
Growing Education
Community Gardening Success Factors

More news and events can be found under individual garden listings

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