COMMUNITY GARDEN AUSTRALIA has been working with local government and new community garden groups to formulate community garden management plans.
What follows is a set of common topics that community gardeners have found useful in devising a management plan. This is followed by link to examples of community garden management plans.
The plans are proactive and need not be complicated. Their advantage lies in setting up decision making, conflict resolution, communication and planning processes before garden development starts. Time spend in developing management plans is seldom wasted.
Devising a management plan should be the second activity undertaken by a new community garden groups, following the formation of the core group and before applying for access to land (which includes submission of the management plan and draft design). Once access is given and legal details are finalised, then you can start the design and construction of the community garden.
Formation of core group > development of management plan > gain access to land (submit management plan and draft design with application ) > approval and legal details > detailed design process > construction > ongoing maintenance and management.
The process of developing your community garden management plan:
- ensures that your group discusses topics that have arisen repeatedly in the starting and operation of community gardens and has processes to deal with them
- demonstrates to local government or other landholder that your group has the organisational capacity and persistence to manage an area of land.
Examples of plans of management…
- Eora Community Garden Plan of Managment – Ashfield, NSW
- Groundswell Community Garden – Frankston, Victoria: download the membership guidelines
- Torquay and Jan Juc Community Garden Management Plan, Victoria
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