Sustainable Gardening Australia (SGA) launches WiseGardening app to assist gardeners choose safer ways of dealing with pests, diseases and weeds.
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SGA has developed the WiseGardening app due to concerns about the risks of garden chemical products to humans and other life forms. Currently free to download, the WiseGardening app has been designed to help people protect their gardens from pests, diseases and weeds - without harming themselves or the planet. The app is the first of its kind in Australia and compares and rates over 850 products with a simple star system as well as suggesting non-chemical alternatives.
According to scientists Dr. Sharron Pfueller, CEO of the environmental non-profit SGA, and Dr. Colin Allison, “With the WiseGardening app, you don’t need a degree in horticulture or biochemistry to know if the spray you’re putting on your roses could be harming creatures apart from insects or fungi. Our assessment team has done the work for you; combing through product ingredient lists, packaging and mode of delivery and mapping these risks into the user-friendly app.
“Many products pose a risk to humans if they spill or ingest them or breathe in their vapours or aerosols. This is why we have looked at whether they contain ingredients with known carcinogenic properties, if they could affect people’s hormonal (endocrine) systems, or whether they may be genotoxic and contribute to DNA damage.
“We have also assessed products and their ingredients for the risk they pose to bees and other beneficial insects, birds, fish, aquatic organisms, frogs, and earthworms. In addition to this we have looked at how likely they are to end up in waterways after rain and how long they persist in the soil."
All products are given an easy-to-understand star rating and are periodically re-assessed to ensure any changes to formulations, packaging or active ingredients have been accounted for. The app also lists alternative, non-chemical options to help users make informed choices.
WiseGardening is the accumulation of more than six years work by SGA’s assessment team complete with the support of volunteers, donations and a grant from the Telematics Trust.
Currently free for users, the WiseGardening app is available to download at https://wisegardening.sgaonline.org.au

The information with the link about SGA's product checker has also been added to our page Pest Control

Things got started for Neighbour Day on the 27th March with Jenny doing the neighbourly gesture of giving vegetables to Tom. Sharing produce over the fence, gifting a potted plant, or dropping off a bunch of flowers from your garden are all random acts of kindness and ways to say thank you for being a good neighbour to people in your street.

Neighbour Day is an initiative of Relationships Australia and supported by the City of Mandurah and community groups like Mandurah Community Gardens. 
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We are spending more time at home and in our neighbourhood, so it is great to wave, smile and ask people how they are going. You never know you might appreciate the help from your neighbour one day.

The video below was created by the City of Mandurah to promote Neighbour Day. MCG President Jenny Boivin and Garden Coordinator Cheryl Ivey give some neighbourly advice on how to participate, and an invitation to get involved with your local community gardens.

​Thanks to Tom and Emma from the City of Mandurah for enlisting our help to promote and celebrate how gardening can bring neighbours together.

​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.

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!

Community gardens are a vital part of the community, creating benefits for our mental health and our diet. This article was in the news today on the ABC's website. Click on the article below to go to the ABC website to read more...

Volunteer member Jade shared this on our Facebook page to show us how well her garden is growing after the rains in April. The plants look so fresh you can almost smell them in the pictures!

To see more, go to our page on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pg/MandurahCommunityGardens/