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.

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!

On the Guardian news website, James Wong wrote an article (Sunday 13 June 2021) describing how gardening provides a natural object of meditation that helps create a healthy mind, being a good focus point for mindfulness practice.
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The colour in our life

The thing about gardens, forests, jungles and most living plants is that they tend to be green.

​The colour green in the spectrum of light is the most restful colour we perceive because the eyes at rest don't have to accommodate the focal point of this wavelength as it lands on the retina. For example, the colour red has a focal point slightly behind the retina while the colour blue falls slightly in front of the retina. So with the colour green, the lens of the eye is in a relaxed state when viewing anything in natural green, creating the relaxation response that calms us.

As most of us already know, green and natural green are not the same thing. We can usually distinguish the difference between the green of an artificial plant and a real plant. If we were looking to get an artificial plant, it's subtle green hues would have to be as close to the real thing for us to accept its likeness of a living plant. Alas, it seems that most artificial plants are a poor reproduction of the real thing and look fake - unless you are prepared to pay much more money to get closer to  perfection.

Of course, we know there is more to the garden than just its colour. Our attention is always drawn to the relaxing ambience of a beautiful garden. As we become aware of life growing and living around us, we naturally recognise our own connection with the environment we are in.

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Thriving to be happy 

The community garden is an environment rich in sensory experience. Not only is it a visual experience for us, it also feeds our senses with its sounds, with its many scents, with the experience of touch, and the presence of others around us. It is not so much as about being occupied, or working and keeping busy, but the garden provides us with it's true value by giving us a place to be present, in a productive environment, letting us enjoy the experience of being alive.

We see the garden as a living, transient thing, as an extension of our existence. It is this feeling of harmony with our environment that heals us, and this is because maintaining a healthy garden is akin to maintaining a healthy mind. This cycle of benefit works to bring us contentment from both directions:

1. A healthy mind makes conditions ripe for a healthy body and when we eat the food of this garden is, we absorb the positive fruits of our efforts. We then integrate this into the cycle of a healthy life.
2. And, having a sustained body also means that conditions are ripe for the formant of a happy and healthy mind.

What we grow together, we know together.

In essence, gardening is a meditation in practice. When we reinforce this practice by gardening together, the social aspect of our human nature is supported, helping us to maintain a natural bond with others in our community. 
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As promoted on Facebook, these popular outdoor signs are printed on high quality composite sheet. Informative and a great feature to have for parks, gardens and school grounds.

​Available to order from Mandurah Community Gardens. Please send email enquiries to Cheryl - info@mandurahcommunitygardens.com.au

Starting from Saturday 5th June, Mandurah Community Gardens will be hosting the Mosaics Month workshop.

Presented by Christine Read and supported with funding from the City of Mandurah, the workshop will run for 4 weeks every Saturday from 1pm to 4pm.

It's going to be fantastic fun and a great opportunity to be creative, and in the company of good people!

Remember, places are very limited - so make sure you contact Cheryl by email to info@mandurahcommunitygardens.com.ay to secure your place.