By Brendan Rees
It wasn’t the perfect launch they had been hoping for but was still one for celebration – “just in a different way”.
After facing many delays due to Covid-19, the team at Berwick Neighbourhood Centre decided to digitally open the doors of its community garden on Wednesday 13 May – where viewers from home tuned in for a virtual tour.
The centre’s community officer Kim Peterson said due to stay-at-home restrictions, they could not hold a public opening.
Instead, three members of the centre gathered quietly under grey clouds to livestream the event to the Berwick Neighbourhood Centre Facebook page – which Ms Peterson said was “positively received by the community”.
“People enjoyed the connection through the live feed and look forward to future activities through this forum,” she said.
“Many indicated they would like to be involved in the garden as permissible, in accordance with current restrictions.”
Ms Peterson said the approach to the launch, which coincided with Neighbourhood House Week, had been a “little different” but was is still a place where residents could be “united despite the restrictions”.
“The intention of this garden is to be a site where the community comes together to share ideas, tend to plots, grow fresh produce, be informed through workshops and provide for those in need.”
The Berwick Neighbourhood Centre together with community gardens projects in Hallam, Endeavour Hills and Narre Warren South have shared a $200,000 grant, thanks to the State Government’s Pick My Project initiative.
