Christmas songs will be sung in the garden
SATURDAY 27TH NOVEMBER 2021  5:00pm - 5:35pm
Arrive 4.15pm to 4.30pm for 5pm sharp performance start
at Mandurah Community Gardens

Performed by the Musical Kite String Choir

All are welcome!.
Bring a plate of finger food to share and your own drinks and glasses.
Mosquitos are around so please come prepared!

We look forward to seeing MCG members, their families and friends at the concert.

EVENT IS FREE
BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL  
RSVP Cheryl: events@mandurahcommunitygardens.com.au
     Mobile: 0414 348 404

A rare opportunity exists to rent a plot at Mandurah Community Gardens!​

Mandurah Community Gardens is having a stall at the Pinjarra Garden Day on Sunday 17th October 9am to 3pm, located at the Edenvale Heritage Precinct, 1 George St in Pinjarra.

We had the pleasure of 40 children from 4 Big Kids OSHC visiting Mandurah Community Gardens as part of their school holiday program. The children who were aged from 6 to 12, rotated in groups through 3 activities.  MCG President Jenny showed how to add soil and different flower seeds to a cut down egg carton then add sticks for feelers to make it look like a caterpillar. 

MCG Secretary Lana explained how to create a dinosaur garden in a clean recycled pot using succulents and stones.

And Cheryl the Garden Coordinator talked about compost worms and worm farms. Worms don't like skin so the children used a stick to find baby worms and big worms and worm eggs.
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The group took their creations home and plan to install a worm farm at their  centre soon. They will have plenty of children to look after these special creatures. 

A fantastic day had by all and an opportunity to reuse, repurpose and recycle made it even better. A big THANKS to Jenny and Lana - I couldn't have managed it without your help!
~ Cheryl

​Cheryl recounts the day:
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It was a great day with 26 other like-minded gardening enthusiasts from all over the metro area. We shared nasturtium pesto, a yummy pumpkin cake and some  roasted pumpkin seeds for afternoon tea. A delightful way to spend the afternoon. 

​We heard all about the history of tomatoes and how soil can be improved to suit growing vegetables, etc. We planted a couple of different varieties of tomato  seeds and will plant them in the communal beds at the garden. 

We had a tour of the garden and loved all the clever ideas. There were 2 Hills Hoist clothes lines being used for a passionfruit trellis, which provided shade as well.
​Re-use and repurpose was a common theme with 2 fridges used as worm farms as well. Lots of sheep manure was used as mulch and everything was looking green and lovely. 

Thanks to all those who organised this event and hosted us.

Mandurah Community Gardens was contacted  by Katherine, one of the organisers of the Australian Association For Environmental Education's (AAEE) 21st Biennial Conference and 4th Research Symposium being  held in Mandurah on the 28th to the 30th September. This conference aims to showcase innovative, practical and effective tools to help us "change the tides" of environmental and sustainability education.

The community  garden  was asked if we would accept the organic waste from the conference. Of course, we said yes!

Once the day's waste was weighed and recorded, it found it's way to the garden's worm farms and compost heap. One hundred people were able to reduce their lunch, morning and afternoon tea waste down to one bucket full. Wrapped in worm and compost friendly bags made from vegetables and not plastic the waste was collected by Cheryl from the garden then the bags were torn up and added with the food scraps, serviettes and green bags to a worm farm and the compost as an experiment to see how long it will take the bags to break down. ​

Marissa from Bindi Bindi Dreaming and Mark from Tucker Bush shared lots of information about indigenous culture, history, using native plants as food, medicine and ointments.

We used all our senses as plants  were  passed around for a closer look. Then the group made up of all ages joined in to plant 20 plants using compost made at the garden in the bottom of each hole. We now have a fantastic collection of Tucker Bush plants for every one to enjoy and use in their diet. Lots to learn about the ways to eat, cook or use these plants as an ointment.

Following the planting, people enjoyed a chat, a sausage sizzle and a tour of the garden. Mark made everyone happy having some extra Tucker Bus plants to purchase and take home to add to their garden.

A big THANKS to Sue for cooking the sausages and all  the other members for their help today. 

Thanks to the City of Mandurah for sponsoring this workshop and for the use of their gazebo which protected us from the rain.

Have you ever  tried a nasturtium sandwich? ​

These nasturtiums are doing their own thing looking so bright and pretty growing at Mandurah Community Gardens.
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​An added bonus is that they have edible leaves and flowers which look great in a salad and have a peppery taste.

The Garden was fortunate to receive a Wishing Well Grant of $1550.06 from the Mandurah Rotary Club. ​This Grant was for Seed Raising, Seedling Shelter and Seed Drying.

How It Helps Continue The Garden Cycle
Using seed raising mix and seeds to start the process, garden members will plant the resulting seedlings into raised beds (which are accessible to volunteers of all abilities). These are then mulched with CCC, watered and fed.

With the shade cloth structures to provide relief from the hot and drying summer heat, the plants thrive, and when the time is right, the crops are harvested, which will then provide healthy, organic food for our members and the local community. Some crops will be dried and some will go to seed with the seeds being dried on the purpose-built drying frames - so nothing is wasted. Then the cycle starts over again... 

Now we will be able to complete the full circle of growing vegetables, herbs and edible flowers at Mandurah Community Gardens.

We used the funds for:

• Potting mix and mulch for seeds and seedlings
• New shade cloth for shade house roof as previous mesh was too dense and didn’t allow enough light in for seedlings to thrive
• Materials to construct shade structures on raised garden beds to protect from harsh summer heat as no shade from trees etc
• Materials to make drying racks so we could dry our seeds for future use and also dry herbs.

Proposed improvements to be done: a BIG THANKS to Mandurah Rotary Districts with their donation of the Rotary Wishing Well Grant to Mandurah Community Gardens.

​Thanks to our members and volunteers for their help and hard work, and thanks also to Ron and Terry for building and installing the frames.

Of course, our thanks to Mandurah Rotary Club was also shared on our Pinterest profile and our Facebook page.

Friday 1st October 2021
10am to 11:30am

Part 1: Bindi Bindi Dreaming - Learn About Aboriginal Culture
Marissa will talk about the traditions and beliefs of the Noongar people.

Part 2: Tucker Bush Educational Incursion
Mark talks about Tucker Bush followed by a demonstration planting of edible plants in a new Tucker Bush plot at the gardens.

Please arrive at 9:45am for 10am start of workshop.
THIS IS A FREE WORKSHOP
PLACES ARE STRICTLY LIMITED - BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL!

Stay for a Yummy Sausage Sizzle Lunch
on sale to help with garden running costs - cash only please.
Followed by a busy bee.
RSVP to reserve your place in the workshop and please indicate if you would like to help with the garden busy bee afterwards.

To Book:
Contact Cheryl: events@mandurahcommunitygardens.com.au
Mobile: 0414 348 404

George Walley will be appearing at Mandurah Community Gardens on Saturday 14th August from 10:00am to 11:30am for a cultural walk and talk through our local community garden.

A Busy Bee will held after until 2pm

This is a Free Event, but places are limited, so booking is essential!

Send your email to Cheryl events@mandurahcommunitygardens.com.au or phone 0414 348 404 to secure your place at the event. Please indicate whether you would like to attend the Busy Bee afterwards.

Click on the link below to get the flyer

There was capacity attendance for John Draper's workshop "Attracting Beneficial Insects" held last Saturday on the 24th July. Volunteers were kept very busy catering for the visitors with a woodfired pizza & soup lunch. 

Coming up in July...
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On Saturday 24th July, John Draper from local business Harvest Me will be holding a FREE workshop presentation on creating biodiversity in a garden through attracting helpful insects. 

Topics covered include:

• What are Pollinators? Why are they important?
• Common Beneficial Insects & how they help in an Organic garden.
• Native bees versus European Honey bees.
• Flowers to attract bees & insects.
• What not to do if you are trying to attract pollinators to your garden.
• Other things to do to attract pollinators, bees & beneficial insects to the garden.

A handout including a list of flowers to attract insects will be provided.

The workshop will be held at Mandurah Community Gardens, starting at 10am and going through to 12pm.

With John's workshops always being popular, places are sure to go quickly. Booking early is recommended.

Email Cheryl at info@mandurahcommunitygardens.com.au to book a place at the workshop.

The garden is known to form a strong impression in our minds. That could be a good reason why gardens are considered so good for our mental health.

​With this in mind, we thought we might share something with you that we hope you find enjoyable to look at. Google Arts and Culture in collaboration with cultural institutions in the UK have put together this amazing collection of digital stories about gardens as an online exhibit.

As always, Mosaics Month was once again popular with our members and the local community.

Christine Read took the attendees through the creative stages of making a mosaic over 4 workshops held every Saturday in June at Mandurah Community Gardens.

The attendees demonstrated their artist talents with fabulous works of art worthy of a gift shop. Thank you Christine!

​ We are so fortunate to have the generous support of the City of Mandurah - Thank You.