Tia Lancaster and Tabi Haudenschild worked hard to have everything ready for the community garden open day on Saturday. Photo: LYLE RADFORD.
The first open day of the Rosewood Community Garden at 79 Matthew Street was enjoyed by an excited group of eager green thumbs including State Member for Ipswich West, Wendy Bourne.
MEMBERS of the Rosewood community celebrated the official opening of a garden that belongs to all, on Saturday.
It was a long time coming and after a lot of hard work behind the scenes, the Rosewood Community Garden was declared open.
Community Project Worker with Rosewood District Support Centre, Tia Lancaster, said community support for the garden was there long before she started working for the centre.
“There was an attempt to start the garden prior to Covid but there were no foundations in place in terms of water and funding,” she said.
“It didn’t get legs at the time but generated interest and a desire for the community garden.
“We identified what we needed to get it off the ground and to make the site ready.”
Taps needed to be easily accessible to people wanting to water their gardens and where there were gaps, reservoirs put in.
“We looked at sustainable gardening practises and how to make some of the areas accessible for people who are disabled,” she said.
“There is an ageing population of people who are interested, so we made gardens easy for them to use.
“We built raised garden beds so they don’t need to get up and down off the ground.”
Other items on the check-list included infrastructure like toilets which people could access without going into the church hall.
“It reached the point where organisers needed funding to implement their ideas and designs,” she said.
“We were lucky to get some funding to get pathways in place, garden beds, some of the disability gardens and the toilets.
“Once the infrastructure was in place, phase one was complete.
“The idea was once we were at the starting point, the community would direct it as they felt fit.
“From there we help it grow through ongoing sponsorship and support from volunteers.”
The group are looking for interested community members to join the Rosewood Community Garden ahead its official launch on Saturday, May 10.
“It’s so much more than a garden, it’s a place where people can connect and make new friends,” Tia said.
“They can learn how to grow and even tend to their own fruit or vegetable patch.”
If you’ve ever wanted a little patch of earth to call your own, now’s the chance.
