Applications are now open for the 2024–25 Community Garden Grants program.

This year’s Community Garden Grants program provides up to $100,000 in funding for projects that:

• build healthier communities
• demonstrate best-practice sustainability
• have strong community support.

Over the past nine years, the program has helped establish 87 community gardens across Canberra.

One of these is in Charnwood. There, local gardeners have shown how a community garden can offer refuge in a changing climate.

The group used their funding to build a shelter to protect gardeners in extreme weather events.

“In recent years, we’ve had a lot of hailstorms,” Charnwood Community Garden Convenor Teresa Rose said.

“One time, two gardeners got caught in a hailstorm and there wasn't anywhere to shelter. They really got pelted. They were quite upset and very afraid. That’s when we decided to apply for a Community Garden Grant to construct a shelter.

“We were pleased to receive about $4,500 in Community Garden Grant funding. We got matched funding from the Canberra Organic Growers Society. We also matched the funding with nearly $5,000 raised by our gardeners at Bunnings barbecues,” she said.

Once they had finished, it was time for celebration. However, Teresa doesn’t think the shelter would be complete, without the grant.

“We wouldn't have made that extra effort to go ‘okay, we've got the money from the government, now we've got to do it,’” she said.

Under the shelter, it is several degrees cooler than outside.

“People come down after a stressful day at work and come and dig in the garden. Even on a hot day you can come here and it’s so much cooler with all the grass and the gardens,” Teresa said.

The shelter now serves as a central meeting spot for Charnwood Community Garden committee meetings and community-building events. It also protects fresh produce from wilting in the sun and offers respite for gardeners during working bees.

Grant applications

This year, there is $100,000 of Community Garden Grant funding available, split across two streams.

• Stream One includes $40,000 (up to $8,000 per project) to fund minor improvements or expansion of existing gardens and establishing new, small low-impact gardens.
• Stream Two includes $60,000 (up to $30,000 per project) to establish new large-scale food production community gardens, and significant garden infrastructure to increase food production in existing gardens.

Not-for-profit community organisations, schools, churches and owners’ corporations are eligible to apply.

Community gardens have many benefits, including:

• creating opportunities for people to grow and consume local food
• offering a place for people to meet with others and connect with nature
• providing opportunities for movement and recreation
• helping people to develop skills and knowledge, and much more.

For more information, please visit the Community Garden Grants webpage.

Applications close 5:00pm on Thursday 11 July 2024.

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