It’s Our Backyard on Monday 4th June 2018 was created to inspire and educate both long time locals and recent arrivals in caring for the local environment and keeping it special.
Around 100 people came along to Okines Community Garden to learn about our local native plants, choose some free native plants to take home and enjoy a delicious bush foods feast. People sat in the sun or walked around chatting, checking out weed and native plants displays, enjoying the food and the beautiful ambiance of the garden.
A first-time collaboration between the Southern Beaches Coastcare group and Okines Community Garden, the event incorporated the garden’s regular monthly ‘tucker time’ lunch with volunteer creating a bush foods feast of local edible plants – Warrigal greens pesto, Samphire salad, Tasmanian greens and edible weeds – along with wallaby sausages, baked vegetables and damper.
Nine people volunteered their time to prepare and cook food, set up tables and displays, hand out native seedling tube stock, provide live music, share their expertise and clean up at the end of the event.
Sorell Council supported us with a $500 community grant and every student at Dodges Ferry Primary school took home a flyer of the advertising poster. The business CJ Gardner donated 450 native plants via the ’15 trees project’ and propagated by ‘Wildseed Tasmania’ for giveaways and also donated the sausages. Landcare and garden experts were on hand to guide and advise on native garden planting, weeds, water issues and local flora and fauna with pamphlets, booklets and weed and plant displays.
