Jimbelungare garden brings the community together
In the two years since the Jimbelungare Community Garden in Loganlea was established, it has seen its fair share of challenges.
COVID-19 made it particularly difficult for a group to start and maintain the beautiful garden.
Now the garden is a lush sanctuary in Sturdee Park, regularly attracting visitors and with a team of dedicated gardeners looking after it.
“People who tend the garden come from all walks of life and all cultural backgrounds. ”
— Debra Maher
“It’s my little piece of paradise,” says group member Debra Maher, a qualified horticulturalist.
“Honestly, some weeks I can be doing 30 hours a week of work for the garden if you include paperwork and things – but it’s always fun for me.
“I’ve always had a connection to gardening since I was small and used to visit grandparents and they had a veggie garden and farm. It’s always been there so it’s nice to pass knowledge to other people and it is so good for the environment to have this garden there too.”
Jimbelungare means Friendship in Yugumbeh language – and it’s lived up to its name.
“It’s such a great thing for the area. People who tend the garden come from all walks of life and all cultural backgrounds.
“We do eco work alongside traditional crops and fruit and veg, and we have had participants of the Skilling Queenslanders for Work program putting in all of the raised beds and we have a Work for the Dole program too.
“We are also part of a research project partnership with Griffith University and Youth and Family Services (YFS who have a men’s group who come here once a fortnight to lend a hand. So it’s a real community space.”
The garden thrives on a water tank and solar power; Debre says they run compost workshops to share this knowledge and visitors are welcomed year-round.
“We have 17 full members, and where the garden is located there is a lot of walk-through traffic so we do get a lot of visitors,” she says.
“It gives people a nice place to sit and relax and it’s about more than gardening – there is a social side too.”
The garden has an outdoor chess set and hosts games in the garden one Sunday a month.
Read more about the Jimbelungare Community Garden. If one garden’s not enough, there’s also the Jimboomba Community Garden group.
For even more to do, check out what’s on in Logan.
