For the last six months or so, various community organisations have been working behind the scenes to try to get a piece of the Victorian Government’s Pick My Projects community grants initiative, and the success of many of these plans will live or die based on the support of the community! It’s one of those rare times that the state government opens the doors for submissions for all kinds of projects – with a good chance of serious funding for it. The catch is (and this is a good thing!) that there needs to be evidence that the project benefits the community. Sounds pretty good to us!

There are projects all over Victoria hoping to get funding, and they need your votes. Here’s a sample of the cool initiatives under consideration:

Waratah Special Developmental School

Schools with unused land fail to realise the potential benefits of well managed landscapes for the local and wider community. Waratah Special Developmental School students come from diverse cultural backgrounds with limited access to quality open space at home. We propose creating a vibrant urban market garden on the large area of unused space at the school. By incorporating a revenue stream from the garden through the distribution of healthy, culturally appropriate food, we aim to create a truly sustainable and functional garden. A portion of funds from the sale of the produce will go directly back to the school.

The Waratah School Market Garden will provide fresh fruit and vegetables to the community through direct ‘farmgate’ sales and seasonal boxes. The project aims to provide other social and community benefits beyond organic food production: the market garden will become a beautiful and interactive learning space for students and staff; will be available to the wider community for volunteer programs and events; and will provide horticultural training with long-term employment outcomes for students. By increasing local food security and developing an attractive edible landscape on previously un-utilised land, our project aims to improve community wellbeing on a long-term basis.
Kirsty, Charlotte and Patrick

To show your support for the Waratah School Market Garden, you can vote for their  Pick a Project page, check them out on Facebook and Instagram, or help them in their fundraiser page.

Spotswood Primary School Kitchen Garden

In conjunction with 3000 acres, the students, teachers and parents of Spotswood Primary school would love to build a sustainable productive garden that will benefit the environment, school and local community.

In designing and building this garden, we want to put a big emphasis on student learning and community creativity – to work together to create something special. In the garden, there will be regular classes for students during the week and workshops for the community on weekends. Involving everyone means our garden will always be loved – even over school holidays!
Trish

Sounds good? You can show your supporting by voting for the Spotswood Primary School Kitchen Garden on their Pick a Project page here.

Tiny House Community Garden

Tiny House Community Garden Project is a live-in experiment designed to prove tiny houses can not only provide more housing, but can also help to engage, educate, and inspire people to live a more sustainable lifestyle.

The Permablitz designed indigenous edible themed garden will source local plant specimens from St. Kilda Indigenous Nursery. Personal plots will be made available to locals, and the garden will welcome anyone wanting to learn about permaculture and sustainable living. Tiny home garden tours and permaculture education sessions will show that a well-designed living model can enhance community connection by creatively developing a neglected land.

Elle

If tiny-houses rock your world, you can vote for the Tiny House Community Garden, or find out more about the Tiny Non Profit group here!

If you’d like to vote for one of these (or many other worthwhile ventures), just do the following:

• Go to https://pickmyproject.vic.gov.au
• Register an account
• Select the area you would like to cast your votes in
• Shortlist the project of your choice and two other great projects, and hit submit.
• Sit back, relax and hope the project gets enough votes to receive the funding to go ahead!

Easy!!