As 2023 wraps up, Hume council takes a view back at the success of its Enviro Champs program, and the recent launch of a children’s garden at the Sunbury Community Garden.
The successful launch, which took place in November, was filled with planting, kids activities and family fun. It wouldn’t have been possible without Enviro Champ graduate Angela Cook-Lee.
Ms Cook-Lee completed the free 10 session course after becoming a Sunbury Community Garden member at the start of the year.
“It was suggested I get the [children’s] garden going through the Hume Enviro Champs Program,” she said.
“So I went into it with what I wanted to achieve, and I found it super helpful in terms of giving me ideas on how things actually worked… and what the process is.”
At a time where we’re told we can all make a difference, Ms Cook-Lee said making that a reality still requires the knowledge of how to have it all run smoothly.
“There was more to [creating the garden] than I had realised and so getting a lot of support and advice on how to make it work and how to get it out to the community [was important],” she said.
Along with the support and information from idea to launch, another useful take-away for Ms Cook-Lee was access to start-up money as seed funding for her idea.
This has resulted in the free kids gardening club, The Little Ladybirds, operating on the first and third Sundays of the month at Sunbury Community Garden.
“I believe strongly in kids getting out, learning to grow food, healthy eating, knowing where food comes from.
“Money is the next thing we need. We have enthusiasm, but we need resources and things for the kids to be able to do.”
She recommends anyone else with even the smallest thoughts about the environment or sustainability should consider getting involved.
