April 2011 Update

The garden has a name!!!!

The working group would proudly like to announce the garden will be named Mary & Basil

Click here to view the final design of the garden.

February 2011 Update

Garden Design

The design process has now started and concepts are being reviewed by the working group. If you would still like to be a part of the community garden at the Mary Kehoe Community Centre please call Sarah Wetherald 9209 6210, and she will pass on your details.

What is involved in becoming part of a community garden group?

To start a new community garden in the City of Port Phillip, residents need to form or join a group of people who are willing to establish an incorporated association.

A community garden needs time commitment and enthusiasm to survive so a good starting point is to form a working group of a committed group of people with a range of skills and experience. Holding a public meeting is one way to recruit involvement, extending the invitation beyond just friends and family to the wider community including residents associations, community facilities and neighbourhood houses.

City of Port Phillip encourages community garden groups to have a clear and identified legal structure. This will allow groups to form their own management committee and take ownership and responsibility for their individual community garden. Groups who want to work in partnership with Council on a community garden project need to apply to the Office of Fair Trading to become Incorporated Associations.

Incorporation as an association requires groups to;

• establish a management committee with annually elected office bearers and
• to commit to regular meetings

Benefits of incorporation:

• flexibility in the management of funds
• enables groups to open a bank account
• it maintains a structure that can address management issues
• having a committee helps share the tasks of garden management
• avoids excessive responsibility being placed on a few people or the garden management
• becoming dominated by one person.
• groups can obtain public liability insurance cover and apply for government grants.