SUSTAINABLE CHIPPENDALE ROAD GARDENS MANAGEMENT PLAN

Version 01     -    8 May 15

Sustainable Chippendale 

Road Gardens Management Plan

2015

We change it as we learn by doing and work with each other in our community.

We welcome comments and suggestions on this management plan.

www.sustainablechippendale.com

https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainable.chippendale/

Our Facebook active gardeners site is:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainable.chippendale/

Our BIG Goals

1. To improve the ‘social glue’ here so we feel safe, connected and pleasure when walking, talking and playing in our streets.

2. To increase property values – extensive research has clearly established that streets with higher numbers of trees and plants have higher property values.

3. To demonstrate the value, beauty and health of investing our local money in our local roads

4. Share fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs to everyone in the Chippendale community.    People who aren't gardeners use them, which is great.

5. We wish to work positively with Council and their agents; for example by having a three way conversation around who does what and how to protect our investment in our roads which council holds on trust for us – before work is done which may accidentally destroy our plants and trees.

Road Garden Plan to turn our food waste into healthy soil and prevent us polluting by putting it into garbage trucks – we compost to clean Earth’s air

Goals:    

• To provide affordable nutrients and soil for our road gardens
• To implement the workshops goals for community composting set during 2010
• To promptly respond to resident feedback where received
• To manage the high demand for composting by using bins which cannot be over-used
•  

Achievement of goals:

• By July 2015 all bins will be rotating, suspended above ground and have signs with the contact points for Sustainable Chippendale fixed on each bin
• By July all existing ground-resting bins will be removed
• Maintenance of two Shepherd and Moorgate St bins will be weekly (putting in sawdust when wet, removing compost to put on Shepherd St plantings or to give to households, removing bottles, etc) and will be carried out by one or more of the following:
•               Sean Foley         
•               Bianca Campbell         
•               Danielle Antonovs     

• Maintenance of the rotating st bin outside 58 Myrtle will be by Michael Mobbs and will be weekly (putting in sawdust when wet, removing compost to put on Myrtle St plantings or to give to households, removing bottles, etc)

Investing in and managing our road gardens

How we do it:  

Caretakers:

Each garden bed has a nominated caretaker, and commitments that go along with it eg buying, transplanting and ensuring plants are watered, pruned and tidied as appropriate,  making sure they are kept planted, picking up glass, bottles, food, stuff and generally tidying up after thoughtless people (sigh...). 

 We rely on ourselves – residents and businesses, not Council:

Generally, we don’t apply to Council for funding due to the unjustifiable amount of time, red tape and delay it takes costing more than the cost to us of just doing and paying for it ourselves.  As Council has ceased its practice of giving us gardening gloves, secateurs and plants we make do with our own resources.  And we have strong support from many local businesses who have given thousands of dollars for composting, plants and equipment since we began road gardening in 2008.

We tell our story:

When we garden we also put photos on the Sustainable Chippendale Facebook and Sustainable Chippendale websites to keep us all informed of what’s happening and to share the latest doings.

Our road gardens and road gardeners include the folks who are members of our Facebook gardening site: https://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainable.chippendale/

And some gardeners who are responsible for specific gardens include:

1. Raised bed on western side Shepherd St at the intersection with Daniels, and the garden on the south eastern corner of Shepherd & Daniels:

•    Hilary Jackson     
•    Paul Hardy         

2. Maintenance of the Shepherd raised bed gardens on the eastern side of the street is carried out by one or more of the following:

•    Anne Young
•    Sean Foley         
•    Bianca Campbell         
•    Danielle Antonovs     

3. Maintenance of the road gardens in Myrtle St from Pine to City Road is carried out by one or more of the following:

•    Xabier Ugarte 
•    Laurie Hughes and their family 
•    Anne Young 
•    Catherine Pruscino and Jamye Harrison and their children
•    Melinda and Graeme Gillies and their children
•    Michael Mobbs and household

4. Maintenance of road garden, corner Pine and Daniels st:

•    Sue Bowrey 

5. Road garden library:

our little library at the corner of Pine and Myrtle - partly manages itself:

• The children who live or come to childcare here who help build, use and maintain it and the people who travel to Chippendale to use it – you know who you are

OTHER GARDENERS AND CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE:

• Alexis – signs and general gardening - 
• Geoff – who gets the clean, fine sawdust from St Peters to mix in with our compost
• Local cafes and businesses which contribute money, food waste, coffee bags, timber pallets, Pine Street Creative Arts Centre, tools, the schools and artists and journalists who write about, visit and increase the knowledge and understanding of the vital role food and gardening for it plays in our lives.

We’re gardening for the future and for now – for everyone

COMMENTS:

We welcome suggestions if they are well mannered and for the community's benefit.  We ignore keyboard warriors, haters and trolls.

[This plan is a work in progress – help us garden, improve the plan and our much-loved suburb of Chippendale]