Gardening joy for Jimboomba community
Beth Cook has always loved gardens, and when she saw the Jimboomba Community Garden, she fell in love straight away.
“I saw an ad for an open day so I went along to see what it was all about and I was just really astounded that this place existed,” she says.
“Straight away I said I would like to volunteer as part of the group.”
She was quickly elected to the group’s committee and is now President.
“I think it is a place where you can go and see beautiful things, feel peaceful and mindful and really get in touch with nature – there’s just so many benefits,” she says.
“We have members of the group who are from other countries showing how they grow things so there is a multicultural aspect too.
“We do have a few mums with young children and babies who comes along as well as a homeschooling group who use the gardens, and I think they get a lot out of it. It’s a safe place, it’s in nature, good for the environment and the mums get to do a bit of gardening too, so I really think that appeals to people.”
“It is a place where you can go and see beautiful things, feel peaceful and mindful and really get in touch with nature - there’s just so many benefits.”
— Beth Cook
The garden is also used as a base for people completing their Cert 1 in Conservation and Land Management with the Belong Training Group.
Beth says new volunteers are always welcome.
“Keeping the garden how it is does take a lot of work so we love to see new volunteers – people have very busy lives but we welcome people for any amount of time really, and it doesn’t matter if you can’t make every meeting,” she says.
The garden, which sits on the grounds of Hills College, is divided up into sections: vegetables and produce, and ornamental/flowers, as well as native trees.
As well as the lush surrounds, Beth says the garden offers mindfulness – and a sense of community.
“This is a group of people where really the only thing we might have in common is a love of gardening, so we would never meet each other outside of this group,” she says.
“It’s so lovely to talk to people from so many different backgrounds. We have had quite a few new members join recently and I think COVID has led to people really wanting to feel connected again and this is a nice way to do that. It’s a great thing to have and we are really grateful to Hills College for their support.”
She says she refers to Community Gardens Australia for tips and information and recommends it to anyone seeking information on community gardens.
“Community Gardens Australia is an excellent resource for gardens like ours. They offer lots of information if you are thinking of joining, or would like to start one,” she says.
The garden is open every Tuesday morning and the second Saturday of each month. The group also hosts monthly workshops and a monthly Crop Swap which is becoming increasingly popular.
You can find out more about Jimboomba Community Garden here on their Facebook page or by emailing jimboombacommunitygarden@gmail.com.
You can find a list of all Logan’s community gardens here.
