Community Garden in Thornbury gets vital support from Yarra Valley Water

A community garden that has been feeding, educating and connecting thousands of people in Melbourne’s north for 18 years has been given a new lease on life with a $14,000 Yarra Valley Water Community Grant.

The garden is at the heart of the Span Community House, a vibrant hub of community support, adult learning and sustainability in Thornbury. 

Through its free, weekly, all-abilities Good Bugs gardening group, the garden produces food that is shared with the community via relief initiatives and community lunches and used in all-abilities cooking classes. In total, it services more than 4,000 people each year.

The garden also hosts a compost program that processes more than 50kg of local food waste each week, supplying compost to improve soil water retention and grow produce.

The $14,000 grant will fund a new overhead watering system to replace the garden’s old and leaky, irrigation system. This will improve accessibility and remove an obstacle for people with mobility issues, while helping to increase the production capacity of the garden. 

Span Community House Climate and Garden Coordinator Carmen Lahiff-Jenkins is grateful for the difference this grant will make.

“A key pillar of Span Community House is ensuring our members are engaged and able to take part,” Ms Lahiff-Jenkins said.

“The new system will not only help us meet the increased demand on our community garden but also ensure those with mobility issues can participate.”

As well as updating the current watering system, the grant will fund the connection of an existing 3000-litre water tank to the community hub’s large roof, improving the capture of rainwater for use in the garden.

Yarra Valley Water’s Acting General Manager Strategy and Community, Rob Fittock, said it was rewarding to support Span Community House’s important work.

“We’re delighted to support Span Community House with funding to boost sustainability, productivity and accessibility at its popular community garden, ensuring everyone can participate and benefit,” Mr Fittock said. 

“It’s fantastic to see the range of positive social and environmental benefits the project directly and indirectly supports, including using water wisely by fixing leaks and enabling more rain water to be used as a sustainable water supply.” 

Span Community House is among 14 recipients of Yarra Valley Water’s Community Grants program, which funds projects aimed at water conservation, habitat improvement, and community education. 

For more information about Yarra Valley Water’s Community Grant program, please visit www.yvw.com.au/community-grants