Griffith University Community Food Garden
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Griffith University Community Food Garden
Griffith University Logan Campus, Logan Central, Queensland
This project also relates to: Identifying a need
Community Harmony ACCES Ser vices had noticed that many of their
refugee clients suffered from low self-esteem and
Employment depression. They also suffered from poor health,
Education had poor nutrition and did not pursue enough
exercise.
A community garden at Griffith University gives Griffith University in Brisbane contacted ACCES
local refugee and migrant communities in Logan Ser vices to express interest in using a community
and Beaudeser t the oppor tunity to increase garden at the local campus in Logan as the basis
self-reliance and have social interaction, thereby of a community development activity for newly
improving mental health and boosting their arrived refugees in early 2006. ACCES Ser vices
self-esteem.The project also aims to encourage embraced the idea, believing that an outlet such
learning about nutrition, to foster healthy eating as gardening could go some way to empowering
habits and to involve the communities in physical individuals and helping them to become more
activity to increase their fitness. self-reliant.
The garden offers an oppor tunity to newly Consulting the communities
arrived refugees and migrants to par ticipate in
familiar farming activities, grow traditional foods ACCES Ser vices and Multilink staff promoted
and develop a sense of being connected to their the project to their clients. The university held
new community. Various communities work a barbecue with the refugees and migrants to
on the gardens together. They include students show them the garden and introduce the idea of
from Griffith University and members of the letting them use it. When they expressed interest
Burundian, Congolese, Sudanese and Pacific and suppor t, negotiations began. An informal
Islander communities. arrangement was soon made and the refugees
and migrants star ted to work in the garden.
Griffith University is working in close par tnership
with Assisting Collaborative Community The project
Employment Suppor t Ser vices (ACCES Ser vices) Griffith University provided funding through
on this project. Other project par tners are several community par tnership grants, which
Multilink, Logan City Council and Queensland covered setting up the garden site and purchasing
Health. tools, seeds and fer tilisers. Overall responsibility
for the Community Food Garden rests with
In 2008 the project will assist some of the
Griffith University administration, and
gardeners, who are also ACCES Ser vices clients,
Queensland Health has funded a project officer
to develop employment skills with funding from
to help run the project.
a Community Jobs Project grant held by ACCES
Ser vices from the Queensland Depar tment of A steering committee has been established to
Employment and Industrial Relations. guide the development of the garden. It includes
representatives from Griffith University, ACCES
The project will build basic infrastructure so
Ser vices, Multilink, the Queensland Depar tment
there is a shaded meeting place for the different
of Health, Community Renewals and Logan
communities that congregate and work in the
City Council, key academics associated with the
garden. The meeting place will also provide a
project, a representative from the community
venue for life skills workshops such as food
reference group and a representative from
preparation and hygiene.
among the students involved in the garden. The
steering committee is responsible for developing
strategic par tnerships, sourcing funding and
informing communities about the garden.
18 Empowering RefugeesKabedi (at rear) and Altemon in the garden
From the beginning, the food garden included Celebrations are also held in the gardens.
a space where Griffith University students from More experienced par ticipants are encouraged
a range of disciplines, including public health, to assist those with less knowledge and some
dietetics, nursing, human ser vices, and now run sessions for other garden users on what
environmental science could experience food to plant and when, watering and how to increase
production in a voluntar y capacity. The student soil fer tility.
volunteers developed the garden in the early
Between 20 and 40 refugee families are involved
stages and worked with the refugees and
in the garden at any one time.There is some
migrants to set up garden structures such as
turnover of par ticipants in line with crop seasons
garden beds, a herb spiral and composting bins.
and as a result of employment commitments.
Together, members of the African and Pacific
A community reference group has been
Islander communities sow seeds, water the plants
established with representatives from among
and har vest the produce from the organic
those using the garden.
community garden.
Health 19ACCES Ser vices helps by sending their Plans to develop a business focus
community development worker to meetings ACCES Ser vices plans to link the community
along with bicultural assistants to facilitate food garden to their business and social
communication as needed. The reference group enterprise centre project to enable food to be
is responsible for day-to-day operations and sold commercially at a monthly market garden.
provides a forum for garden members to discuss A stall has been reser ved at the market garden
garden issues and make decisions about the for community groups to sell their produce.
project.
At the planning stage, the gardeners measure Achievements
the garden and are allocated separate plots in The gardening par ticipants have had a key role
an equitable way.The current garden site is 10 in making decisions about the garden, identifying
acres. Individuals are allocated 10 metre by five resources required and taking ownership of
metre plots. They are able to cultivate whatever the garden.
they please and many choose to grow traditional Growing their own food has enabled the
foods that are either not readily available or are refugees to save money and the vegetables have
expensive in Australia, such as okra, groundnuts, improved their nutrition and health.
chillies, cowpeas and kidney beans. The next
traditional crop to be planted is cassava, which Project par ticipants have had oppor tunities to
is grown both in Pacific Island countries and use their farming knowledge and this helped
in some African countries.They also grow a increase their self-confidence and overall
range of more common vegetables including wellbeing.
corn, eggplants, cabbages, lettuce, onions and The refugees communicate with other
sunflowers. communities in the garden using English as the
Par ticipants eat the produce they grow, share only common language.This improves their
or trade it with other members of their communication skills in English, promotes
communities (sometimes even those interstate), integration and enhances social and life skills.
and at times even sell it if they have surplus.This
The project also facilitated interaction between
assists in building par ticipants’ self-esteem, sense
refugee par ticipants and Griffith University
of achievement and status in the community as
students.This has helped new arrivals improve
well as building relationships with other garden
their English conversation skills and has allowed
users from their own and other communities.
the gardeners to be informed about adapting
While implementing the project, a fur ther need to the Australian way of life (for example, with
was identified to educate garden par ticipants information about when to use sunscreen and
about nutrition and healthy living. The garden is wear a hat).
being moved to another larger site that will also
contain orchards to produce various fruits. Challenges
Griffith University has obtained funding for The biggest hurdle for the project has been
materials to build a meeting place and a shaded insufficient funding.
area to deliver workshops and information
sessions around life skills such as cooking, food The majority of par ticipants are also looking for
preparation and food hygiene. The meeting place employment. Once they are employed, it is often
will be a site where garden par ticipants can be difficult for them to continue their commitment
encouraged in the use of conversational English. to the garden.
ACCES Ser vices has also received a community Public transpor t between Woodridge and
jobs grant from the Queensland Depar tment of Griffith University’s Logan Campus is ver y limited
Employment and Industrial Relations to provide and, as a consequence, some people have been
the labour to develop the site and construct the unable to attend. ACCES Ser vices has, when
new facilities. possible, provided a bus ser vice for gardeners,
Steering committee and community reference but as numbers increase this is becoming a more
group meetings happen about ever y second onerous commitment.
month to plan, discuss and resolve issues and ACCES Ser vices considered that for them, the
provide a forum to understand what is happening project began ver y organically with no real
in the garden and what needs to be done. management structure.
20 Empowering RefugeesImplementing a more structured approach was Funding
challenging but has provided the necessar y basis Funding was received from the Office of
for the garden to function and grow. In the set-up Community Par tnerships of Griffith University,
phase of the project, a management committee Population Health of Queensland Health, the
would have been more effective than having one Depar tment of Employment and Industrial
project officer. Relations, and the Logan City Council.
Key factors in the project’s success Contact details
Par ticipants greatly appreciated the familiarity Dr Neil Harris
of gardening. ACCES Ser vices project officer, School of Public Health
Sam Takada, said: Griffith University
People are coming to a new culture to University Drive
see new things but gardening is something Meadowbrook Queensland 4131
familiar. Refugees are used to it. Ever ything is Ph: 07 3382 1043
new except for the garden. Fax: 07 3382 1034
A key factor was the close collaboration that Email: n.harris@griffith.edu.au
developed between all project par tners and
the goodwill demonstrated by other Griffith
University depar tments, par ticularly in relation to
helping to manage the grounds of the garden.
Key messages and advice for setting up a
similar project
It is impor tant to recognise that refugees should
take ownership of the garden and make their
own decisions; something they may not have had
the oppor tunity to do for a long time.
Many refugees have been farmers and are quite
knowledgeable in this area. Therefore, refugee
autonomy over the garden is crucial to the
success of the project.
Transpor t needs to be factored into the project
design to enable it to succeed.
The project also facilitated interaction between
refugee par ticipants and Griffith University
students.
Health 21Jerome left Burundi in 1993 because of the war and fled to Tanzania with his
family. In Januar y 2006, Jerome, his wife Ncoka and their two boys came to
Australia after having lived in refugee camps for 14 years. The family adapted
quite well to the new environment.
Jerome and Ncoka initially heard of the gardening project through ACCES
Ser vices. He has actively par ticipated in the project since May 2006 and was
excited to plant the same vegetables here as he and Ncoka grew in Africa.
Jerome and his family have benefited from the garden in many ways.
They saved money by eating their own produce and spent time together as
a family, exercised and had the satisfaction of growing their own food.
Jerome and other par ticipants have suggested how the project can be
improved.They have identified the need for extra water, more space in the
garden and fences to keep the animals out. Another identified need was the
desire to grow more produce to be able to sell in the broader community.
Jerome said he and his family would highly recommend this project to other
potential par ticipants.
22 Empowering RefugeesYou can also read
