A new community garden celebrating the inner west’s cultural diversity is on the agenda for West Footscray.
Landscape designer Tash Geelen has been dreaming of a shared garden space where people can come together to exchange food, gardening tips and stories.
She is working on the plan with friend Lian Reads and is seeking a suitable site.
“It’s just an idea for now, but we have a meeting at Littlefoot Bar on September 3 and we’re hoping people will want to be involved,” she said.
As well as a community garden, Ms Geelen hopes to draw in other possible uses, such as a workshop space, a nursery, an educational resource or simply a meeting spot.
Her initial investigations drew her to the Cross Street electrical substation, a derelict site next to West Footscray railway station.
But VicTrack spokeswoman Jo Mayall said the heritage-protected site had been identified as a potential development site as part of the Station Precinct Enhancement Program.
Undaunted, Ms Geelen is keen to hear from anyone who wants to make the project something unique to the area.
“I love Footscray because of the food and the mix of cultures,” she said.
“There’s a really big African, Vietnamese and Italian presence and I think it would be really good to reflect that in what was grown, and to bring the cultural aspects into it as well.”
The first community garden meeting will be at Littlefoot Bar, 223 Barkly Street, Footscray, at 6pm on Thursday, September 3.
Details: www.facebook.com/CrossRoads CommunityGarden
