Community Gardens

The City of Burnside encourages community gardening as a sustainable living option and a way for people to get involved with their local community. Community Gardens can create a greater sense of belonging and neighbourliness through collaboration over shared interests and the opportunity to help others, further building community. On an individual level, residents can learn forgotten or new skills, share knowledge, explore new techniques and celebrate success through harvests.

Community gardens involve substantial community participation in planning, management and daily activities. Successful community gardens are generally established by a committed group of residents and volunteers and are often sponsored by a competent community organisation or local business.

What is a Community Garden?

A 'community garden' is a parcel of public open space operated by the community to produce food through allotments or shared plots and contribute to a sense of community. Community gardens should:

• Involve diverse community groups and people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.
• Focus on growing edible plants (vegetables, herbs, fruit, etc).
• Demonstrate sustainable gardening and living practices.

Community gardens can include:

• Educational opportunities through shared knowledge, workshops and activities.
• Skill sharing through cooking and eating.
• Incorporation of arts and cultural activities.
• Positive social interactions and improved health and wellbeing outcomes. 

Community gardens are not typically located on the verge or road reserve. However, residents in the City of Burnside can apply for landscaping or planting on the verge/road reserve near their property. Verge upgrades differ from community gardens in that they are typically managed by nearby households rather than a community group. More information about verge/road reserve landscaping or planting can be found by heading over to our page about Undertaking Work on Council Land.

A community garden is an asset to any neighbourhood and generates many benefits. However, building and managing a community garden is a significant undertaking. A considerable amount of planning, design, community consultation, resources, approval and building is involved before you can start gardening. Please see our Community Garden Guidelines(PDF, 7MB) for more information about the process and all that you need to know before starting a new Community Garden on council-owned or controlled land.