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

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.

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. 

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.

Using historical video and pictures taken by members of Mandurah Community Gardens, we have put together a video montage highlighting (just some of) the many benefits that our organisation provides to the community.

We hope you like it, and we hope it encourages you to get involved in the gardens by joining us or inviting a friend to join. Our community garden is a valuable asset for the local community, providing healthy activities and socialising to be involved in.
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Come down to the gardens where you can grow, learn and enjoy all of the benefits - and it's good for your mental health and wellbeing.

Published on the 97.3 CoastLive website today, Mandurah Community Gardens President Jenny Boivin was interviewed by Marion Print about MCG receiving community gardens funding from the WA State Government.
​See the story below on their website.

Lisa Munday, the local MLA for Dawesville posted on her Facebook page a big congratulations to Mandurah Community Gardens for getting the community gardens funding.

...which was on-shared with his own congratulations by another big supporter of MCG, David Templeman, the local MLA for Mandurah.

​A BIG THANK YOU from everyone at Mandurah Community Gardens goes to Marion Print for covering this story and to Lisa Munday and David Templeman for your fantastic support!

Mandurah Community Gardens is getting a makeover of the community plot area and new pathways being laid soon. To make way for this, the reticulation needed to be moved to allow easy access to the solenoids. While doing this, other maintenance and repairs were made on the reticulation as well. This work has been possible with the help of generous donations, and through the time and effort given by volunteers to get the job done. A new solenoid housing was made by Brian and he moved and connected it up - great work..thank you!

With COVID-19 restrictions being eased, we're all now out in the garden and getting busy - and isn't it wonderful!

With the changes brought on by the COVID crisis, it hasn't deterred us. Instead, the members have used the time-out to reflect on what we needed to do to improve things around the garden. The MCG committee members toiled over many ideas at many meetings both online and at the gardens to make the garden a welcoming sanctuary for members and visitors alike. The enthusiasm  and efforts made are a credit to every member involved.

So, what has been happening?

Mandurah Community Gardens has connected up with many knowledgeable and helpful people and organisations in the Peel area.

We have been helped and supported by Community Development Officer, Thomas Wood, from the CIty of Mandurah who has come up with many great ideas and advice for the gardens to integrate with the wider community. This is an ongoing project with new links to our community being established and maintained.

Mandurah Community Gardens received a visit from Zac Kirkup MLA Dawesville and Liberal candidate for Mandurah, Ryan Burns, who were introduced to the gardens by members. They showed great interest and enthusiasm for what the gardens provides to the community and have offered their ongoing support. Ryan followed up by organising a generous donation of carpet off-cuts for controlling the winter weeds. Later in the month, committee members met with Amanda Burton at Zac Kirkup's office to discuss sources of funding, namely Containers For Cash, and community involvement ideas. It was an invaluable and constructive meeting that has given Mandurah Community Gardens many avenues to explore and utilise. 

We have some big cost projects coming up, particularly with redevelopment of the Communal Garden area, garden paths, maintenance of older plots ,reticulation overhaul, and security of the grounds.

WORKSHOPS
Our workshops are back on again, starting on 5th September with a series of handy gardening topics hosted by our long-time contributor Chris Lampard. Chris will be teaching us about growing from seeds, composting and preparing the garden for summer. Always popular workshops, everyone is looking forward to seeing Chris again.

If you live in the Peel region and haven't been to the gardens at all, or in a while, feel free to drop by and look around!
Mandurah Community Gardens is a great place to meet people, have a chat and to feel the serenity! 

For more information about the Mandurah Plein Air Group, visit their website at https://mandurahpleinair.com/

Members are welcome to come down to the gardens and interact with the artists.
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