The Collingwood Community Gardens Management Plan

Background

The Collingwood Community Gardens Association is committed to managing the Community Gardens which take up ¾ of an acre of Crown Land currently part of the reserve managed by the Collingwood Children’s Farm Inc Committee of Management under the Victorian Crown Lands Reserve Act 1978. As acknowledged in the Garden Adjustment document generated by the CCF, the community gardens have been in existence for more than 40 years ‘for intergenerational connection to food, people and culture where gardeners grow food, connect with community, learn from others and contribute to a sustainable food system’ (About This Document section).

As the second oldest community gardens based on an allotment principle in Victoria, the Collingwood Community Gardens embody multiple layers of history. These include the involvement of post war migrant communities in their establishment, a handful of whom are still plotters; ethnic gardening traditions expressed in style of plantings and vernacular gardening traditions; and a history of community activism. The Gardens have been the site of multi-generational and cross-cultural knowledge exchange, activities which have produced their own intangible heritage about gardening traditions, playing an important role in fostering social inclusion, enabling social cohesion and building a sense of place and belonging for Yarra residents.

These features of the Community Gardens are highly prized by current holders of plots who have been devastated by being locked out, without notice, of their gardens since June 2021. Many gardeners have personal property on their plots that has a high level of personal significance to them, as well as tools and materials that are of value to them. That does not include the crops planted and allowed to go to ruin. Lack of clear communication and exclusionary processes from the CCF CoM and the CEO has left the gardeners without trust or confidence in the CoM’s intentions or good faith. It is underlined by the CoM’s apparent desire to convert the CCG from a place of community activity for residents of Yarra City Council to a site that is available for a much broader range of public activity, but arguably reduced public benefit, to the detriment of current gardeners by removing autonomy over how plots are used and introducing other purposes to what has been a successful community garden for residents of the City of Yarra.

It is also true that engagement with the CCF management, CoM and staff has been left to a small group of long standing gardeners who have done their best to represent the interests of the broader group of gardeners, without a formal structure or means of communication. This was based on a misplaced notion that the gardeners could trust the CCF to act in good faith in relation to them. These unfortunate realities are the reason for the formation of the Collingwood Community Gardens Association (CCGA) and underpin the management plan set out below.

Role of the Collingwood Community Gardens Association (CCGA)

The majority of gardeners are members of the CCGA. The CCGA wants to take over the responsibility for managing the whole of the current CCG site. This could be either as a licensee to the CCF or as a responsible CoM to DELWP. To be clear, the CCGA would prefer to have a direct relationship with DELWP.

Vision for the Collingwood Community Gardens

The CCGA’s vision for the CCG is set out in the purposes of the CCGA, namely:

• To cultivate and maintain the Community Gardens on the bank of the Yarra adjacent to the Collingwood Children’s Farm, protecting their heritage values for the residents of the City of Yarra and beyond

• To manage the allocation of plots fairly, equitably and transparently for the residents of the City of Yarra in ways that preserve and extend the gardens’ heritage

• To promote safe community gardening where residents of the City of Yarra with limited outside space can grow healthy organic food

• To promote community integration through sharing, companionship, skills and knowledge between City of Yarra residents and other community gardens (such as Rushall, Ceres and Moreland, for example)

• To enhance mental and physical well being of members of the community through gardening activities

• To demonstrate a more sustainable way of living

Style and Management of the Community Gardens

Inherent in this vision is the retention of the culturally significant CCG allotment style gardens for the benefit of Yarra residents under more dynamic management:

• More dynamic management would mean that unused plots can be identified early, their holders be communicated with and, where necessary, unused plots unused for a defined period be reallocated to people who are seeking a gardening opportunity. CCGA notes that about 40% of plots are currently unused. It is expected that under a more active management model, plots would be fully allocated to individuals, households and Yarra community groups at all times. We expect that there will be a 20% to 25% turnover of plots each year, based on observation of past use. Such a strategy would ensure a mix of new gardeners, mid-term gardeners, and the small group of long-term gardeners would be encouraged to continue for as long as they can and want to, to ensure a constant influx of new energy and ideas, stability of community, and the retention and sharing of gardening expertise is maintained.

• CCGA envisages that plot holders would pay annual fees based on income as well as numbers of people sharing a plot.

• Plots would be made available to be shared between different households or the use of one household or individual, depending on the size of plot. Plots would also be available for community organisations under the mentorship of experienced plotters.

• People waiting to be allocated a plot would be invited to participate in a communal gardening program led by more experienced gardeners. This provides a good way of transmitting knowledge and information about what to plant when and when to harvest as well as soil conditioning and improvement techniques. Participation in communal gardening and working bees would be a good induction for new gardeners.

• Plot holders will be responsible collectively for maintaining and improving the site, including undertaking and supervising the improvement works, setting up composting stations and maintaining collectively held tools.

• The CCGA is happy to assume that responsibility.

Originally plots were 4 x 5mx. In the past few years, some plots have been subdivided into 2 or 3 smaller plots. This will continue over time so that there are a mix of sized plots to suit individuals, small families, larger families or multi-household groups who want to garden collectively. As indicated above, there will also be a number of plots available for communal gardening aimed at engaging Yarra based community groups working with vulnerable people in Yarra as well as those on a waiting list. We envisage that, if given full control of the gardens, the CCGA would be able to grow the number of people actively involved in gardening, ensure social, economic and cultural diversity among its members.

Safety and Accessibility of the site

The CCGA acknowledges that safety and accessibility are significant issues on the site and has already put a proposal to the CCF and DELWP to address the safety and accessibility issues through gardeners undertaking the work themselves under the supervision of the registered heritage builders who are also gardeners and members of the CCGA. As noted in our proposal, WorkSafe will be asked to inspect the works to ensure they meet safety and accessibility standards. If the WorkSafe inspection finds issues unresolved after the initial works, then based on the WorkSafe report remediation work will continue until WorkSafe approval is granted. The CCGA has developed a budget to cover these capital expenditure costs and ongoing administration and insurance costs.

CCGA will be seeking funds from both DELWP and from Yarra City Council to undertake this work. The budget is attached to this management plan. It includes a modest amount to cover administration of the plots and site, including public access which would need to be carefully managed and supervised. The CCGA envisages sourcing funds to cover these costs independently of the CCF. The budget covers redeveloping the perimeter paths to 2mx to accommodate two wheelchairs passing each other, and the internal paths at 1.5mx for the two main axis paths and 1.2mx for the other four internal paths. This represents a rationalisation of the paths, eliminating narrow paths. The proposal is to establish paths using compacted crushed dromana gravel onto a prepared base. These dimensions are based on universal design principles and will ensure that those with compromised mobility can move around all paths of the gardens. These dimensions also ensure the safe passage of wheelbarrows side by side in opposite directions and more than one person walking side by side.

The budget also covers the cost of making good retaining walls using new materials and installing a hot composting bin system to deal with weeds. Further, CCGA intends to relay the water pipes along the new paths so that water is separately supplied to the gardens from the CCF (we note water is already separately metred) and water outlet points be installed accessible to all plots. These paths would also have new edging (see budget) to mark the outer sides of the plots, making for a neat and unified look. The internal layout and style of each plot will be left to individual plotters to enable the retention of diversity in gardening styles and aesthetics.

Rules would be established however, to ensure no hazardous materials were used – sharp metal edges, rusty fences or corrugated iron, for example. These rules would be outlined in a garden guide and form part of the rules/pledge that plotters would have to signing on accepting the plot and joining the Association.

It would be possible to install some raised wicking beds for disabled gardeners to extend their gardening lives.

Relationships with the Yarra Community

Once the remediation works have been completed, CCGA is keen to develop positive and active relationships with First Nation Traditional Owners of the land to establish whether, and if so how, they might want to become active participants in the Community Gardens. Certain CCGA members already have close connections with local First Nations leaders.

CCGA is also keen to engage with, for example, the Melbourne University Early Learning Centre on St Helliers St and other local creches and primary schools to demonstrate to children the joys of growing your own food and the work involved in doing this. This would be done pro bono by volunteers who have the necessary police checks and WWC cards. The currency of these qualifications would be monitored by the part time administrator/coordinator.

Gardeners are keen to run classes for the public on weekends, for example, on soil conditioning and improvement, crops that can be successfully grown in particular seasons and composting techniques among others. Gardeners delivering classes will have current police checks and WWC cards.

As with all community gardens, the public will be welcome to walk through the gardens as long as it is safe for both the public and the gardeners. Our current view is that if there are more than 5 gardeners on site, a sandwich board will be put out inviting the public in to visit and the gate will be open. The gate to the Farm would, however, be locked to prevent visitors accessing the Farm for free. Plotters would need the ability to open this gate to use the public toilets

The CCGA already has a relationship with some neighbourhood houses in Yarra and is keen to develop partnerships with the Collingwood, Fitzroy and Richmond Neighbourhood Houses, Co-Health and the North Richmond Community Health Centre. They support some of the most vulnerable people in the Yarra LGA. Plots could be made available to clients from these community organisations as a group, if there is interest from these organisations in sponsoring that activity.

CCGA is interested in developing a free garden for the public: the vineyard between the CCG fence and the bike trail could be redeveloped for this purpose. It would feature herb borders, and vegetable beds planted with quick growing seasonal greens such as lettuces, rocket, bok choy, silverbeet and radishes for the public to pick as they pass by. The gardeners would maintain these beds for the benefit of the broader public

The CCGA does not want to conflict with CCF’s stated intention of bringing in larger groups of young people with disabilities funded through the NDIS or young jobseekers who are looking for horticultural training. The CCGA believes that these activities can best occur on other land that the CCF has available to it on the rest of its reserve.

Public Benefit

The public benefit of our proposal for managing the Collingwood Community Gardens stems from the notion of public value. This is a concept that seeks to understand the value of an organisation or activity to society in terms of the way the organisation/activity supports individuals by embedding them in social structures and relationships. Such an objective produces a common good that is of public benefit, even if not all members of society can access it at the same time.

The rationale for our desire to manage the Collingwood Community Gardens ourselves is based on our firm belief that these gardens have, over time, enabled the development of strong social relations between multiple ethnicities, across generations and social classes through the activity of gardening, thus producing both public value and a common good/public benefit.

Moreover, they also foster a strong sense of belonging, due to the activity of cultivating the soil, in situ. There is a strong sense amongst the plotters of custodianship for the land, care for each other and for the place itself. These sensibilities build social inclusion, cohesion and belonging, all of which are key to public value as they are foundational to the possibility of establishing and maintaining social structures and relations.

Our proposal seeks to build on our heritage, further extending the number of people involved in the gardens and the range of activities they can be involved in.

First of all, our dynamic approach to managing the gardens will ensure a diverse ecology of plotters, ranging in scale from individuals, to groups of families/friends and collective groups involving community organisations from the City of Yarra. Our stepped approach to the cost of membership and determination to foster relationships with Yarra community organisations supporting vulnerable people, will also enable a wide cross-section of society to participate, including young people, older residents of Yarra, and those on social pensions. This is made possible by our strategy to allocate individual plots to more than one individual, enable us to have a wider variety of membership categories than currently exists. In summary, we are committed to continuing the Gardens’ tradition of social inclusion and cohesion.

The ability to include such a wide variety of memberships will foster the development of social cohesion and inclusion, particularly as we aim to build a mentoring program for new plotters, engaging longer term plotters to do so. These social relationships will be supported also through regular working bees as well as a program of workshops delivered by the plotters for the plotters and prospective plotters. The wider community will also be invited to participate in these workshops, thus extending the public benefit of these activities and opening the gardens up to non members.

The public value of having such activities delivered by community members for community members is high and enables the building of deeper social relations and thus social cohesion.

The wider public will also benefit from the gardens by being able to pick produce from the garden beds we propose to manage along the road leading from the river up to the Farm’s entrance and through informal conversation when we open the gates during the day.

The ability to 'own’ these programs and develop them, will help to build the kind of thick relationships that sustain community building activities. This has not been possible under the management of the CoM of the Farm because plotters are managed as individuals and have not acted as a collective. That is no longer the case. Gardeners are now acting collectively and have a strong sense of ownership of their activities.

The statements of public benefit of CCGAs approach are supported by recent scholarship on the public value of allotment style community gardens.

Allotment gardens promote positive engagement between groups of people that would not usually interact, crossing cultural, age and socio-economic barriers. They provide an opportunity for these culturally diverse relationships to form strong networks, which is particularly important across Greater Melbourne where 40% of its residents are born overseas. In fact, migrant groups with histories of ethnic conflict have even been shown to be able to overcome the barriers of such pasts through the forging of new relationships and solidarity with old foes within community garden settings.

Deep connections are also made with the natural environment through allotment gardening, and as this connection and attachment to the garden grows, there is a shift in thinking from one of merely space, to one of place. It is an important distinction, as connection to place through allotment gardening is recognised as being the precursor to bringing about environmental care and accountability. Subsequent 'place-making' of allotment gardening therefore has the capacity to facilitate social and environmental change-making.

In the context of Melbourne, a city that has been experiencing significant population growth and urban densification, allotment gardens play a critical role in ensuring that current and future residents have opportunities to experience valuable connections to both 'place' and each other, which are capable of generating deep social and environmental wellbeing. Allotment gardens become special locations imbued with connection and meaning, and help to ameliorate some of the health and wellbeing concerns of increasing urbanisation, including impacts on mental health due to the recent global pandemic. With the recent escalation in chronic disease and associated healthcare costs, studies suggest that urban allotments have great potential for preventative healthcare.

Numerous studies highlight the vast spectrum of benefits resulting from allotment gardening, including improvements in physical and mental health, social connectedness and capital, social resilience, a sense of engagement and responsibility, awareness and interaction with wildlife, a culture of sharing knowledge and produce, greater food access and improved nutritional intake.

Furthermore, a recent study (2021) focusing on allotment gardening in Melbourne proposes that priority should be given to improving community and allotment gardening access for members of urban communities. The fact that many people are waiting for significant periods of time on waiting lists to engage with allotment gardens across Victoria strongly indicates a greater community need for this amenity, and that both local and state governments have a responsibility to heed this fact, as there would be significant benefit derived by dedicating more places in and around urban Melbourne for them.

Responses to CCF’s specific questions about our proposal

• Key reasons CCGA’s proposal would produce a different outcome to the Community Gardens Adjustment Plan.

  The Adjustment Plan was the result of a faulty process that did not engage the gardeners substantively. There is a reference to a 3 year period of work but for most of that time the WG was in abeyance. The Plan was produced unilaterally by the CCF and presented to the WG confidentially on a take it or leave it basis at the end of that process. This meant that the representatives were prevented from sharing the Plan with the broader group of gardeners. That is not acceptable to the gardeners.

  There are many positive aspects to the plan but the CCF’s apparent intention to use the gardens for purposes different to its current use is not acceptable to the gardeners.

  The Adjustment Plan foreshadows a substantial redevelopment of the CCGs, rather than minor strategic and structural adjustments as noted in the Plan, but also removes from gardeners any autonomy over how they arrange their plots and what materials they use within their plots. The CCGA accepts that unsafe materials should not be allowed on site.

• Would the CGAP form the basis for the model being put forward under your proposal?

  In our view there are positive aspects to the Plan that are included in our plan. We are happy to talk through with you the detail of what we can accept and what is unacceptable.

• What criteria would be used to assess whether someone should be allocated a plot?

  In our view, the primary criterion is whether the person resides in the City of Yarra; Second, whether they have confined space that prevents them from growing their own produce; Third, whether they are experiencing significant economic and or social disadvantage.

• What would be the proposed tenure of a plot?

  We propose that plots be held for as long as gardeners are actively cultivating them, subject to extraordinary circumstances such as temporary ill-health. Underpinning this is an expectation that the community that the gardeners are, would ensure that communication is actively maintained, so that the circumstances of plot holders can by addressed quickly if they are unable to garden. There are a number of informal examples where that is exactly what has occurred, precisely because of existing relations of care. Under our management, that would be formalised and encouraged.

• CCF is not satisfied that the remediation strategy would ensure safety or adequately covers CCF’s liability in the event that someone is injured.

  This would be addressed by the CCF entering into a licence agreement for the whole site with the CCGA and the CCGA purchasing insurance coverage for people working on site. Volunteers will be working under the umbrella of the CCGA as licencee of the site.

• How does the CCGA intend to cover the costs associated with remediation works?

  CGGA is sseking funding from DELWP and from Yarra City Council for these works and ongoing maintenance and administration.

• How does CCGA intend to cover the costs the administrative and operational costs of running the site?

  The CCGA will seek funds from Yarra City Council and would use funds generated from annual usage fees for plots.

• If a version of this goes ahead, the proposed licence would not cover the whole site.

  In our view, if that is the CoM’s intention, consultation needs to occur first with residents of the City of Yarra about changing the use of that site. We have already stated that our proposal is for the whole of the community gardens site.

• CCF’s desire to run public access and education programs.

  We are happy for the CCF to run those programs on land it holds in the rest of its reserve.

  CCGA will adhere to the Yarra River Action Plan and the Yarra Strategic Plan.