Cutlivating Community and Community Gardens

Cultivating Community is responsible for the management of 20 community gardens on public housing estates across Melbourne. The gardens function around principles and practises of environmentally sustainable horticulture and waste management.

Cultivating Community is committed to grass roots community development and is working alongside public housing residents/plot holders to achieve long term goals of tenant empowerment and co-management for the community garden projects.

There are presently a total of 780 plots available for use by public housing residents on the relevant estates.

The Office of Housing and Community Gardens

Community gardens on Public Housing estates have been around for over 20 years. In the early years they where run by tenant groups and had little or no support from the office of housing/DHS. Some of these gardens where very successful and others ran into problems. In 1990 Coll-Link (Cultivating Community’s old name) was created to support the gardens in Richmond, Collingwood and Fitzroy. This role was done primarily by Basil Natoli and others as volunteer work.

The group not only tried to ensure that the gardens functioned properly but worked to link the gardens with the office of housing/DHS. By raising the profile and promoting the benefits of the Community Gardens it was hoped that long-term support would be forthcoming.

Just over six years ago the Office of Housing created a new position within its department for a Coordinator of Community Garden Projects. That position is held by Basil.
Basil’s primary role is to support and develop community gardens within the public housing community in Melbourne and major regional centres. A number of new community gardens and other initiatives are being developed and funding has been provided to facilitate the process of these projects.

In 2000 Cultivating Community successfully tendered with the Office of Housing to employ a Community Garden Project Worker. This funding was increased in 2002 and we employed another worker on a part-time basis.

On the 20th June 2002 Cultivating Community successfully tendered with the OOH to manage a total of fourteen community gardens located on public housing estates. For the first time all public housing gardens where managed by one organisation.

We have been fulfilling this role for the last 4 years and during this time there has been an additional 6 Community gardens developed bringing the total to 20. Having just signed a contract for a further 3 years, Cultivating Community has a secure funding base to work with and expand in to other areas.