Community spirit thrives in garden

Community gardeners with a shared passion for fresh organic produce have been working across the Pilbara to cultivate healthier and connected communities.

In the past decade there have been a growing number of community gardens popping up across the region, with gardens firmly established in Karratha, Onslow and Port Hedland.

Karratha Enviro Group representative Robyn Gulliver said she had watched the Karratha Community Garden flourish from a small garden with only a few volunteers to a successful eight-year community project.

"Many people are astonished by what grows up here, thinking that it's too hot for anything - we aim to show that this is not the case at all," she said.

"We have a full range of plants, including vegies like lettuce, spinach, cucumbers and zucchini, as well as some flowers, a full range of herbs such as basil, coriander and mint, and trees including a coffee plant, paw paws, passionfruit and a grape vine."

"People can come into the garden whenever they want … some people come along with their children for a look around and others come down to take cuttings of herbs or other plants to grow at home. Everyone is welcome."

Ms Gulliver said projects like the Karratha Community Garden pointed the way to living sustainably in an urban environment - showing waste minimisation, composting and water use techniques that can be used by people in their own homes.

"We try to demonstrate sustainable living practices, being water efficient, composting food and green waste and reusing/recycling things to create your garden," she said.

"We aim to show people that coming to Karratha shouldn't change the way you would normally do anything in other cooler climates, in fact some things like composting can work better and faster up here," she said.

"As well as this aspect, of course, the social benefit is that it gives people a place to go outside, where they can just sit and enjoy and watch children play or look at the plants … getting outdoors with friendly, welcoming people is an opportunity we want to give everyone."

Onslow Community Garden president Geoff Herbert said since it was established four years ago, the local community garden had become a social hub for a range of activities - learning and education, preparing and sharing food and celebrating community events.

"It's a cross between a meeting place and family-friendly vegie patch, and it's a fantastic meeting place for people new to town," he said.

"Over time we have had 60 to 70 various community groups utilise the garden and every second year we host the Passion of the Pilbara festival.

"The garden is a social hub which increases community involvement for residents and FIFO workers, and it encourages children to take get involved and take ownership so we have seen minimal vandalism since its establishment.

"I thoroughly recommend any other towns in the region considering establishing a community garden to do so; the benefits of the garden are far reaching so long as it is well planned."

There are several new community gardens in the early planning phases in Pannawonica, Wickham and Dampier.

Ms Gulliver said the Karratha Community Garden was hoping to expand as the City of Karratha went through the planning stages for revitalising the suburbs of Millars Well, Pegs Creek and Bulgarra.

"People come up to Karratha feeling like they have to leave their hobby of gardening or living sustainably back at home," she said.

"We hope the community garden shows people that the Pilbara is actually a fantastic place to grow plants, and they grow very well, so long as you pick your times of the year better."

People and schools looking to get involved in their local community garden should contact Karratha Community Garden, Onslow Community Garden or Hedland Garden club via their Facebook pages.