The Marathon

There’s no denying it, we have well and truly entered the endurance phase. Seeing our garden emerge from the mud, the temptation at this stage is to get this project finished and enjoy the spoils of our hard work. However, with our hopes of proving that trash can indeed reveal itself as treasure we intend to produce nothing less than pirate’s gold. So while we chip away at the project, we can see that now is as good a time as any to remind ourselves (and others) what we are truly trying to create in this space:

We aim to create a destination that will inspire our visitors to support organic food production. We hope to highlight the power of the individual in local food and material distribution, engage creativity through recycling and grow delicious vegetable utilizing natural cycles. We intend to inspire through beauty and to prove this project is possible with some enthusiasm and patience. We will produce 700m2 of 100% recycled. 100% organic. 100% people power productive garden space.

To prove our commitment to these values, we will now boast a small but mighty victory. Finding, securing the donation, and finishing the collection of tonnes of disused rock material from a local work site. This job was bigger than it sounds but we will let the photos do the talking.

                                                                        

                                                       Each bag weighs approximately 30kg,

Each bag was filled by hand

                                                                            

                                                                    Each stone was mined by hand

                                                                      

                                                               We filled two trucks with these bags.

Many Hands...

It’s been quite incredible to watch the garden grow over the last three weeks, both physically on the ground and mentally in the minds of all involved. The garden really is starting to take its form. From a field of basil and grass we are now seeing the base plan of the demo garden reveal itself. So once again a huge and organic thankyou, and a large helping of mud and sweat to all involved in getting this far.

Thirsty Work….

One of the projects aims is to use the garden as a tool, bringing people together and proving the concept of "many hands makes light work".  We have witnessed this since day one, but now more than ever the garden’s ability to act as a uniting force is clear for all to see. 

The collective effort of students, workers and volunteers remains vital to the progress of the garden, and their hardwork has resulted in real changes. We have seen the transformation of a green unruly field into a carefully charted blue print, and we are working to bring  functional linearity together with the shapes and processes of nature. Its truly inspiring to watch the garden develop in this way,  with each contribution fusing to create a whole that is more than the sum of its parts.

Building Together

Starting with a pile over two metres high and six metres long our large heap of recycled wood is quickly depleating.  We have made over one hundred metres of material for raised beds; nearly a quater of the way through. Resting the busted thumbs and nail wounded feet, now its back to the junk shops to find a fresh supply of wood to transform into wonderful and useful creations.

Hard Labour

We lost count of the number of rocks that have been collected from the local dump site over the last few weeks. The collective hard work has been a truly monumental feat.  All by hand, tonnes of stone has been moved; transformed from the disused material of one site and given the double function of drain and path material in another.  It’s been great to collect these objects and see the rewards of thinking outside the box. 

Battling against the rain it has been a hard slog completing the paths of the garden.  If you are following our blog you will know that the first spade hit the ground just three weeks ago, yet with hardwork, five shovels and a dozen pairs of hands, the majority of the paths have been mapped, excavated, and graded throughout the garden.  

Elsewhere, the garden has been cleared of vegetation, leaving just a surface cover to protect our precious soil, and we are on the hunt around the university grounds and beyond for lovely materials to build new layers of nutritious future soil to fill our raised beds.

There are testing times ahead for sure, but we are committed to keeping it organic, local and always positive.  We are on a roll, and we are going with it.