St Lucia Community Garden

Whoops! Sorry not to post in April, but we've been busy being busy . . .

Lots of progress to report, and some proper news to share as well. Those of you who have been paying close attention will know that the most important procedural task for the SLCG this year has been to apply to QG for recognition as an Incorporated Association. Thanks to the diligence and skills of our Treasurer, Elliott, and the willingness of Members to turn up and vote on wordy motions, we have submitted and are now awaiting formal confirmation of acceptance.

Meanwhile, our "completed" Community Compost Hub will be having a super-formal (not really) launch on Saturday 15 May at about 09:30. Bcc staff and Cllr Mackay will be on hand to offer handy kitchen scraps "caddies" to make bringing your vegetable waste to the Hub more straightforward, and to answer questions you may have about the process of compost making and how everyone can contribute and why they should. I have heard there may be refreshments, quite likely with key ingredients sourced from the Community Garden itself.

Here's the Hub, which, because we believe in getting on with things, particularly if there is time involved, has already generated more than 100kgs of finished ready-to-use compost for the Garden. We'll be leaving the steps open to admiration or quibbling until after the Hub launch, so you can see exactly how it is done, and how easy making your own (or ours) can be. Lots more info here: https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/clean-and-green/green-home-and-community/sustainable-gardening/compost-and-organic-waste-recycling/compost/community-composting-hubs

A little later in June we'll be participating in a school holiday time "Fun Day" at the neighbouring 100 Acre Bar sponsored by Cllr Mackay and the Hillstone/Links lessees, Hans and Jens. Details to follow . . .

Meanwhile, stuff on site has been changing, sometimes for nothing using our tremendous volunteers' labour and energy, and sometimes through the strategic use of specific grant funding and dedicated community garden building specialists. A combination of BCC and Maiwar grants plus our carefully handled Membership dues has delivered us two huge raised beds that boost our growing area by more than 200%.

The new beds are "c" shaped to simplify access for people with mobility or reach challenges, or who have not grown very tall yet. 

SLCG Members will be discussing how exactly we can best use the space during the coming week or so. We hope/plan/expect to boost those beds by using about half of our 21/22 Walter Taylor Ward grant funding (the same funding stream that paid for our terraces) to fund hopefully four additional taller, smaller raised beds built by Council (as already supplied to our friends at the Taringa and Chapel Hill CGs). 

That lot will let us begin to grow and harvest in earnest.

The same Walter Taylor funding pot will also hopefully bring us some permanent paths around the CG, and to finish off the Lower Terrace structurally, which will allow us to move the shed backwards a significant distance and give us about 20 square metres more usable space.

Speaking of sheds, the Committee got busy last weekend and Marie Kondo'd our shed . . .

New shelves are coming for the shed soon, and a second water tank has appeared and then disappeared (sort of) last week as well:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making watering the new Lower Terrace beds much easier.

 

And last but not least there's the important social side: