Sustainable Gardening for Life

The Blue Mountains Sustainable Garden Project promotes sustainable behaviour change amongst residents and students by encouraging the development / expansion of waterwise gardens including kitchen and schools gardens, the uptake of rainwater tank installation, appropriate greywater reuse, stormwater treatment trains, development of 'water sensitive homes', a reduction in household water usage and waste, avoidance of inappropriate groundwater use and management of swamps and native vegetation on private land, ultimately leading to enhanced waterways, improved biodiversity and catchment health and local sustainability.

Over 2009-2010, this project ran workshops for schools, community organisations and individuals to promote sustainable living in the Blue Mountains and to help people to look after the surrounding World Heritage National Park. It was funded by the NSW Government Water for Life program (www.waterforlife.nsw.gov.au).

At a household level the Council is partnering with Blue Mountains Cittalslow-Slow Food group to promote their vision of 'A Kitchen Garden in Every Blue Mountains Home' by encouraging residents to convert their recycling crates into kitchen gardens.  Resident workshops were presented by the highly skilled volunteer teachers from the North Katoomba Organic Community Gardens.  Workshops on slow foods were presented by local expert members of Cittaslow.

The program also involved Blue Mountains Schools through Council's School Environment Network and promoted new and enhanced school kitchen gardens through a series of hands-on workshops. Ten volunteers from the North Katoomba Organic Community Gardens ran the 10 week programs in schools.

The North Katoomba Organic Community Gardens was used as a demonstration site for waterwise and sustainable gardening workshops as well as kitchen garden workshops for residents and local schools. Through its enhanced rainwater harvesting and stormwater reuse technologies the gardens displays working models of sustainable activities that local households can adopt including rainwater tanks, bioremediation swales, stormwater treatment trains, permaculture, bushfoods, organic farming techniques and worm farming and composting.

This project also provided support for the ongoing development of an Aboriginal Bush Foods Gardens being established by the Aboriginal Cultural Resource Centre. A Green Corp and TAFE group were instrumental in expanding the Bush Food site.

The project has had multiple benefits across a number of areas.  The main outcomes of the project have included:

• Blue Mountains Schools Program – 11 local schools participated in the 10 week program.  Each school had a Kitchen Garden Workshop for one or more classrooms to develop or rejuvenate an existing school food garden. There were 9 clay lantern making workshops teaching about soil and connection to the earth.  All schools established Kitchen Gardens in a box.  Schools also displayed some of their kitchen garden boxes at the Footbeat and Sustainability Festival in October 2009.
• Outdoor Classroom Workshops, attended by 28 participants from 14 schools to integrate and the school garden into the curriculum and encouraging a wider usage of the garden as a classroom resource.  • The students from North Katoomba Public School planted and harvested vegetables at the Community Gardens and each student took home fresh produce they grew themselves. A special workshop was also held for the Blue Mountains home schooling network at the Community Gardens.  This helps create a sense of place and practical understanding about food and harvest.
• Catchment Model School Workshops – The SAM model was taken to 10 schools in 2009-2010 and the Katoomba Community Gardens for Earth Week in April 2010. The model is an interactive way to talk about catchment and overflow, the development or expansion of waterwise gardens and the management of swamps.
• Community workshops:  Women's Health Centre – children and women participated in a series of workshops to make kitchen gardens accessible to everyone. It was an opportunity to get the environmental message out in a way that is practical and benefited the participants by providing them with a take home garden.
• Footbeat Sustainability Festival – a kitchen garden workshop was run with enormous success displaying the results in the shape of 350 to mark the International Day of Climate Action.
• Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre – kitchen Garden workshops were held at Katoomba Neighbourhood Centre
• Katoomba Men's Shed – installed a rain water tank that provides water to a native plant garden and for other landscaping.
• In fostering a more sustainable café culture in the Blue Mountains, the partnership with Cittaslow-Slow Food Blue Mountains resulted in support for the annual summer activities and events from October 2009 – February 2010.  10 workshops were run by chefs and 'foodies' to increase knowledge and skills to preserve and utilise 'slow food'.  Watch out for this year's program!
• Katoomba Creek Line Restoration – Katoomba Community Gardens – two workshops held for the volunteers at the community gardens and local residents to learn the principles of creek restoration.  This has given the locals a greater understanding for the issues involved in caring for the creeks running through their properties and in the community gardens.  Residents are welcome to join in the Harold Hodgeson Landcare Group, commencing 2011 activities in February.  Contact Environment Management 4780 5000 for more information.

To view the community report on the Sustainable Gardening for Life Project 2009-2010 click here.