This month the @ The Coalface and Complete Parts $500 Community Gift is going to Muswellbrook’s Penguin Community Garden. The not-for-profit is part of Muswellbrook Council’s Sustainability Hub educating the community on how to be more sustainable.
Anne Mason is the “unofficial head gardener” at the Penguin Community Garden that has been thriving at its new site on Sydney Street.
“The garden started in its original form in 2017 on the site of the old Penguin Tennis Club, hence its name. Due to Council plans for a nearby site we moved to Sydney Street in 2023.
“We are part of what Council calls the ‘Sustainability Hub’. We also share the space with Landcare who have a hot house and a green house.
“The garden itself is run by a very small cohort of regulars, just four of us! We are women in our senior years so it would be great to see more volunteers come along and share their time,” Anne said.
The produce from the garden is shared by the volunteers, but there is always plenty for the community. Often produce is sat out the front of the garden or you can head in when volunteers are doing a working bee and purchase produce directly.
“We also donate to some of the local charities. This year I have given a lot of zucchinis away to Upper Hunter Homeless Support, the Red Door Community Kitchen, the St Aubin’s Charity Shop and to Foodcare.”
Anne and the volunteers started a seed library during the pandemic because they had more space to work with in their new location, and now they have more seedlings than they know what to do with.
“We have seedlings that we’ve grown ourselves that we put out to the public for purchase for $1 per tube. We often give a lot to Warrior Disability Services who put the seedlings in nice packaging and then back out the front of the garden for sale.
“We often have school groups, disability groups and other community groups come through to see what we do and help out.
“We’ve been fortunate enough in the past to receive some assistance from the local mines and businesses which has helped us grow our resources including a tool shed and raised garden beds.
“A lot of the money we get is for buying soil to raise seedlings in. We’re a not-for-profit organisation but to keep us ticking over we need some funding, and we can’t rely on the mines to give us grant funding all the time. It is a sustainability hub, so we are trying to follow sustainable practices and become sustainable ourselves,” Anne explained.
Anne said they would love to see more people join the garden and volunteer their time.
“People are more than welcome to rock up and give us a hand.
“The garden is here for people to get better at using their green thumb, but also in times of stress gardening is a really good mental activity.”
Anne said they’re excited to put the @ The Coalface and Complete Parts Community Gift to good use.
| The Penguin Community Garden hold working bees on the first and third Sunday of the month and the second and fourth Saturday at 127 Sydney Street, Muswellbrook. You can also get in touch with Anne via the garden’s Facebook page. |
