Newton Community Garden

Project Update: September 2023

Vision: To establish and maintain a community garden for the community to grow fruit, vegetables, herbs and other plants in a sustainable way

The Newton Community Garden has now become an incorporated body with their own Managing Committee, constitution and are in the process of signing a lease with Council for the land. Through fortnightly Working Bee sessions the group have started building their community garden beds and planting fruit trees in raised beds. The next step will be to prepare the site for paths, sheds and a large rainwater tank.

For more information or to become a garden member email ncginc.secretary@gmail.com.

Project Update Summary (November 2022)

Work to establish Newton Community Garden has commenced!

Playford Road Reserve has been allocated to the Newton Community Garden and Community Landcare Nursery. Each group will have approximately 1,000m2 of space to establish themselves on.

The Newton Community Garden Working Group has formed and is meeting on a fortnightly basis. At the moment the working group are planning the physical layout of the garden and are working on a draft constitution to become an incorporated organisation.

Site preparation at the Playford Road Reserve site has commenced which has involved:

• water to the site has been installed.
• vegetation has been cleared
• signage has been erected
• slate path is in the process of being removed.

Council has allocated $15,000 'seed' funding to help the garden become established.

The Newton Community Garden working group is interested in hearing from anyone and everyone who would like to be involved.
For more information about the Newton Community Garden contact Sophie Kavoukis, Community Development Officer - Neighbourhoods on (08) 8366 9303 or skavoukis@campbelltown.sa.gov.au

Background

In 2020 Council engaged the Community to see if it was interested in establishing a community garden in Newton. Following a favourable response, Council has been working with the Community to select a location for the garden which meets the needs of the Community and Council. In 2022 Council endorsed Playford Road Reserve as the chosen site for the Newton Community Garden, to be shared with a new Community Landcare Nursery.

Community gardens are places where people come together to grow fresh food, enjoy the outdoors and make new friends. Usually situated on Council land, they have garden beds for people to lease as well as having shared communal growing areas. In general it can take one to two years to establish a community garden and is usually a collaborative effort between community members and groups, Council and local contractors. Once a community garden is established and operating as an independent entity, people join as members and lease individual plots or they can come along and help with weeding, planting and watering of shared spaces. They can also join the committee that manages the garden.