Introduction A brief stroll through the gardens Angel Street Permaculture Garden University of New South Wales Permaculture Community Garden Glovers Community Garden Randwick Community Organic Garden Cook, Marton and Solander Community Gardens, Waterloo Waterloo Community Garden The Women’s Community Garden, Marrickville Street Jungle Community Garden Project, Macdonaldtown Garden origins and structure How news travels Daily management structures Involvement swith other bodies What the garden means to participants Issues identified by the garden group Affiliated bodies But what does it all mean?? Footnotes

Garden origins and structure This is a proposed garden for State Rail Authority (SRA) land adjacent Macdonaldtown station shown in plate 3.12. Currently the group is in negotiation with the real estate agent responsible for managing SRA land; at the time of writing, a response is still pending. The garden is an initiative of several groups working primarily with people living with HIV and AIDS (plwha).  <<to top of page>>   Plate 3.12. The proposed Street Jungle site. Interestingly, the site was mowed and received a delivery of mulch once the proposal was made — the first activity here in 10 years. No-one knows who was responsible for this and a final answer on the site is still pending, although the impression is one of rejection. How news travels The group is currently promoting the project largely within the health service community and amongst plwha, through channels such as newsletters. The project will be launched on 2 November 1999 and current publicity includes a cover story in Talkabout, a newsletter for plwha. Contact was made with ACFCGN by coincidence 6. <<to top of page>> Daily management structures At the time of writing decisions are being made by the slowly growing core group involved in the project’s inception. Weekly meetings commenced on October 20, and are currently focus on the upcoming launch, membership, incorporation, insurance and funding. It is planned that membership will focus on generating an HIV aware space open to the whole community. Issues such as communal and/or allotment arrangements will largely depend on the amount of land granted. <<to top of page>> Involvement with other bodies Project partners include current and future gardeners; the Sexual Health Promotion Unit and the Sanctuary, CSAHS; Positive Information and Education Project, South East Sydney Area Health Service (SESAHS); Community Gardens Project Officer, SSC; and the HIV Promotion Project, AIDS Council of New South Wales (ACON). Funding is being sought from CSAHS, ACON and SESAHS; Southern Sydney Waste Board (SSWB) has also been suggested as a funding source, as this body recently launched a three-year home composting plan and offered funding for promotion and signage of community gardens. <<to top of page>> What the garden means to participants The garden is seen to hold many benefits for plwha, such as enabling access to food produced without chemicals, helping alleviate food related poverty 7, providing physical activity and empowering people through enhancing their control over their lives. The garden is seen as a site for redressing much of the alienation felt by a population such as plwha, through the involvement of both plwha and the wider community. <<to top of page>> Issues identified by the garden group Currently many issues are faced by the group. These include the SRA’s acceptance of the proposal, identification of potential funding sources, garden incorporation and insurance, garden structure, membership structure and water provision.

Contents Preface Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Appendix I Appendix II References << email:lcrabtre@*SPAMBINGLER*els.mq.edu.au >> NOTE: Remember to delete the expression *SPAMBINGLER* from the address before sending the email. << honours index >> << phd index >> << home >> << to top of page >>