Made possible by a Glencore Ernest Henry community grant, the garden is open to any locals who want a go at getting their hands dirty.

Senior Community Worker, Jo Moore, said it is a welcoming place for people to feel connected to their community.

“It was through community consultation that the idea sparked up to get something going, where the community can have ownership,” Ms Moore said.

“It’s about getting back to nature, healthy eating, social and emotional well-being. Centacare is a councelling service, so linking that in, it’s a safe space to come and sit and chat.”

Indigenous Elder, Hombre Major, is passionate about including more young people in the project.

“Hombre has brought a whole heaps of kids down to garden, and they’ve got radishes, beetroot, and carrots flowering already.”

Playgroup Queensland will bring its under 5s playgroup every Monday and Wednesday to maintain their two garden beds.

“They’ve already got massive cabbages, beans, carrots, sunflowers, sweet corn, and this Friday they will pick lettuce to make chicken salad wraps as part of their Playgroup,” Ms Moore said.

Local schools will also be attending to facilitate their own garden beds.

The project had enthusiastic support from Glencore from the start, Ms Moore said.

“They loved the idea. It was something different and new, and they jumped on board and said they’d love to help.”

The centre was fortunate to be able to fast-track the garden project, Ms Moore.

“In January we kicked off, and we were quite lucky because we got onto it really quickly and managed to secure our contractors in a few months,” Ms Moore said.

“We got the bore put in which is hooked up to an amazing irrigation system, so everything is fully automatic, on timers in the morning.”

Plants have gone in over the last month, and the garden will officially launch in a month or so.

The centre ordered 100% recycled printer cartridges through Planet Ark, to lay the garden beds with. 

Rainbow Gateway workers assisted the centre by building compost bins, picnic tables, and a fence for passionfruit vines to grow over.

Centre staff asked for expressions of interest to form a Community Advisory Committee for further gardening projects, Ms Moore said.

“It was time for the community to take ownership, so we got eight members who are representatives from certain areas; state school, kindergartens, and general members of the community with an interest in gardening.”

“The main thing for us is that it creates a workable space where people can come.”

And there are plenty of fresh ideas for making the most of Cloncurry’s new garden beds, including growing bush tucker.

“We have two garden beds that are free at the moment, so the kids will go out and bring back bush tomatoes, bush oranges, and seeds.”

A fruit and vege night market is one idea, and a batch of Rosella jam should be bubbling away very soon.

“It’s the opportunity to plant, harvest, give some good ideas, and it’s a nice space to utilise,” Ms Moore said.

As the project progresses, a fence will go up and security measures may increase to prevent any vandalism.

Fancy a visit? Centacare’s Neighbourhood Centre is in Sheaffe Street, Cloncurry.