By Goya Dmytryshchak
Four years in the making, a site for the Altona Community Gardens has finally been found.
A 340 square metre community garden will be created in Den Dulk Reserve as part of a Hobsons Bay council project to improve the open space opposite the Somers Parade shops.
Altona Community Gardens co-founder Peter Weaver said it would hopefully be the first of many communal planting spaces developed around the municipality.
“The council’s so behind us,” he said.
“They look at this as a pilot for Hobsons Bay – if all done correctly, there will be more.
“We’ve got so much available land in Hobsons Bay compared to a lot of other city councils that I’m hoping that a little bit more can become community gardens.”
Altona Community Gardens became incorporated four years ago and has been looking for a public space ever since.
“We’re envisaging about 40 [garden] beds,” Mr Weaver said. “About 20 to be available as personal plots and then we’ll keep the other 20 or 25 as community plots, so this will be more strongly based around a community garden.
“None of us [founding members] will actually take plots; we’ll leave it for the community because we’ve already got gardens.
“Long-term, when we get another site, we can do more and get the schools involved.”
The first sod is expected to be turned in spring.
