A small garden in the heart of Inveresk campus is helping connect students, staff and the community with food growing, learning and each other.
Set amongst a series of flourishing raised beds within the Community Garden on-site is a patch cared for by Library staff that’s different from the rest.
It hosts a QR code linking to books about gardening which can be borrowed from the collection, along with signs displaying quotes from the works of Shakespeare that reference the various plants which are growing there.
Learning and Research Librarian Brenda Carter initiated the team's involvement because of a love for gardening, and since then, it has grown and thrived into something very special.
“After moving to a place without a garden, I spoke to members of the Sustainability team about how I could become involved with the Community Garden program here at Inveresk,” Brenda said.
“I also saw it as an opportunity and wellbeing initiative for other Library staff. I love going out there in my break and our team now has a watering schedule with a couple of colleagues even visiting on weekends to check on the plants and water them.”
After being allocated a garden bed in the part of the community garden closest to the Library, Brenda was inspired by literature when deciding what to plant.
“I searched for plays and poems that mentioned particular plants and settled on the Shakespeare theme which currently features in the Library Garden,” Brenda said.
“I worked out what was appropriate to plant in that season, which was mainly herbs and some pansy flowers, then printed quotes from the plays they’re mentioned in and put these on signs made by staff from The Workshop.”
Plants and seeds were supplied by Brenda, donated by colleagues, and sourced from the community gardening program.
While the garden signs have created a unique link between the community and nearby Library, the presence of staff has forged an even greater connection.
“The best engagement has been when I'm there watering and weeding. A community member will come up to me every time and I’ll talk to them about the Library. I’ve also connected with students and school groups,” Brenda said.
“Instead of waiting for people to come in, it’s about meeting people who are interested in the garden, and it’s not just for the Library’s use – it’s a garden for everyone to enjoy.”
Demand for community gardening has been growing throughout the whole Inveresk campus, with raised garden beds outside the Levee Studios recently revived thanks to a partnership between a group of Architecture and Design students, Sustainability and Campus Services.
These have been planted with white mulberry trees, lemon trees, a lime tree, strawberry runners and herbs, with plans for more planting in spring.
Jeff McClintock, Community Garden Coordinator, said there were a diverse range of individuals and groups involved in the food-growing initiatives.
“We never know quite who is going to turn up to our gardening sessions,” Jeff said.
“As well as University students and community members, we also frequently have people with disabilities, people from culturally diverse backgrounds and students from the nearby Big Picture School. The common theme is an understanding that gardening is good fun, and it’s good for us as well as for the planet.
“It’s also great the way staff are connecting with the garden, whether through bringing food scraps for our composting machine or bringing their classes to sketch flowers or build structures.
“In spring we are planning to start regular gardening sessions in the middle of the day so staff can pop over during their lunch break and do a bit of weeding or plant some seedlings.”
The Urban Realm, which includes the Inveresk Community Garden, was enabled through the Northern Transformation Program – a partnership between Local, State and Federal Governments to establish a redeveloped and accessible central campus at the precinct that brings together learning, community and a shared sense of belonging.
Get involved in the community garden!
Email: jeff.mcclintock@utas.edu.au