On Wednesday the 25th of March Healthy Greater Bendigo facilitated a free community gardening event called ‘Sowing the Seeds to Success’. The event was part of the Healthy Greater Bendigo’s, Health is Everyone’s Business Leadership Activation Project funded by Vichealth.
Sowing the seeds for success brought to together Kalianna school, a panel of local community garden experts plus two guest presenters for a morning of learning, sharing and connecting over community gardening. The event was practical and included Q&A with local people who have made community gardens work, plus the sharing of information on supports and resources available to assist people who could want to establish a community garden in the future. The event provided the chance to network with others who could be partnered with in future to further create community gardens.
The event was attended by schools, neighbourhood houses, men’s sheds, and other community organisations involved in or interested in community gardens.
The goal of Healthy Greater Bendigo is to make it easy and normal to eat well and move more. Sowing the Seeds for success was an opportunity for Healthy Greater Bendigo to engage and support local community leaders to see health as everyone’s business and encourage the co-benefits of healthy eating, physical activity and social connection through gardening.
The event formed a key part of Healthy Greater Bendigo’s approach of engaging:
- Key leaders, sectors and target groups
- Launching a face-book page for the networking of community gardens
- Beginning the co-design of an ambassador network for Healthy Greater Bendigo
Early outcomes from the event have included: The linking of Community Houses and Men’s Sheds, new employment opportunities for Kalianna VCAL students, plus several Bendigo schools expressing an interest in establishing gardens in their schools.