Community gardens

There are currently eight community gardens in Moonee Valley. The gardens are spread across the council area on reserves, at neighbourhood houses and on public housing estates.

Community gardens give you the chance to:

• connect with others outdoors
• grow your own food 
• learn and share gardening skills
• improve spaces.

Ascot Vale community growing space

Council has established three garden beds in Walter Reserve, Ascot Vale for the community to use to grow fresh food and spend time gardening together. 

These beds are managed by the local community and they encourage others to join in. 

Please email avcommunitygarden@gmail.com to get involved.

Avondale Heights Community Garden

The Avondale Heights Community Garden was established in 2010 by local gardening enthusiasts. There are currently 20 plots which organisers are hoping will eventually grow to 70. Visit the Avondale Heights Community Garden website for more information.

River Reserve, off River Drive and The Crossway South, Avondale Heights. Melways Ref 27 C3

East Keilor Sustainability Street

Established in 2004, East Keilor Sustainability Street has 48 regular garden plots, a children's garden and beds designed for accessibility. Over 75 per cent of the gardeners live within one kilometre of the garden. For more information visit the East Keilor Sustainability Street Facebook page.

10a Tuppal Place, East Keilor. Melways Ref 15 E9

Essendon Community Garden

Located near the Moonee Ponds Creek in Ascot Vale, Essendon Community Garden is the second oldest community garden in Victoria and was established in 1978 by dedicated gardeners in the area. Essendon Community Garden holds a working bee on the first Sunday of each month and there is lots of work to be done! Visit the Essendon Community Garden website.

56 Brisbane Street, Ascot Vale. Melways Ref 28 K9

Farnham Street Neighbourhood Learning Centre (FSNLC) Community Garden

Originally for use by students of FSNLC as part of a gardening/cooking program, now used for community education programs and individual plot use. This community garden is intended for those who don't have access to a growing space or who are on a concession. To find out more visit the Farnham Street Neighbourhood Learning Centre Community Garden website.

28 Farnham Street, Flemington. Melways Ref 28 K 11

Strathmore Community Garden

The initial idea for Moonee Valley's most recently established community garden came from the Boeing Reserve Wellness Group with the aim to encourage more social interaction in the local area and also grow food. The site is next to Boeing Reserve and near the Moonee Ponds Creek and currently has 32 plots. To find out more visit their Strathmore Community Garden Facebook page.

Boeing Reserve, Strathmore Heights (Next to Boeing Reserve car park). Melways Ref 16 C5

Community gardens at public housing estates

If you are a public housing tenant in Moonee Valley you can join one of Cultivating Community's Gardens which are located at inner city public housing estates. Visit the Cultivating Community website to find out more.

Wingate Avenue Community Garden

Wingate Avenue, Ascot Vale.

Crown Street Garden

Crown Street, Flemington.

Flemington Community Garden

120 Racecourse Road, Flemington.

Want to start a garden?

We recommend making the most of existing growing spaces before establishing a new garden. This is because community gardens requires supporting infrastructure such as toilets, water tanks, storage space and access to mains water. They also require a massive work and time commitment from the local community to start and maintain.

Before starting a new community garden, you should:

• contact community gardens nearby to find out if you can get involved. You might want to get in touch with the Essendon District Garden Club for example
• join one of the existing community gardens in Moonee Valley
• contact schools in your area and find out if they have a gardening space that you can get involved in
• join Council’s My Smart Garden Program that offers regular gardening workshops across Moonee Valley.

If you still want to look into starting a new garden, you can:

• find other people who are keen to start a community garden in the area and consult withl residents to understand the level of need and support for a new garden. To ensure that any garden can sustain itself into the future, it’s important that there is a core group of local people who are keen and committed to maintaining it. 
• identify and assess potential sites (see site criteria below). Discuss the proposed site with Council who will provide advice on suitability. Please contact our City Design team on email parkimprovements@mvcc.vic.gov.au or 9243 8888 to discuss
• once suitability has been established, submit a proposal to Council, including a garden plan, proposed scale, design, funding, management and the results of your community consultation.

Council staff will assess the application, and if it is supported, assist with formal community consultation. If the consultation is positive, the application would go to a Council meeting for approval.

If approved, Council would work with you to develop an agreement for use of the land. Your group would need to be incorporated and set out roles, responsibilities and processes for managing the space.

Once an agreement is in place, your group could seek funding (for example through Council’s community grants program or other sources), then design and build the garden.

The level of Council involvement at this stage would be determined on a project by project basis.

Site selection criteria 

• Location: sites which may be suitable include Council land which has been designated for communal use such as land associated with a community centre or other council building or underutilised land adjacent to a sportsground or play space (not natural conservation areas). Please note that if the potential site is not on Council land but is another publicly owned site (eg by Melbourne Water, Victrack or state government) you would need to contact that land holder.
• Accessibility: sites should be accessible for a wide range of user groups (e.g. vehicle access, nearby public transport). It would be preferable to identify locations that would not preclude other existing land uses (eg. where the site can still be used by non-gardeners for passive recreation).
• Safety: sites should have good passive surveillance (i.e. be in a high profile, preferably well-lit location that can be easily observed from nearby houses, shopping areas or businesses) and have no major safety risks or health concerns.
• Usability: consider soil quality, sun exposure, size of area for the purpose, access to water (ideally rainwater tanks) and toilets
• Multiple needs: consider adequacy of public space around the gardens to meet the non-gardening needs of other community members
• Multiple use: E.g. consider use site for community workshops and events, co-locate with neighbourhood house to share facilities and resources such as rainwater harvesting.