'North West Patch' is a proposal for a large community garden in the North/West Melbourne municipality.
To have our proposal heard we need as much community support as possible to show Melbourne City Council that the people of North and West Melbourne want to get their hands dirty! We want to grow our own vegetables! We want a positive space for everyone to enjoy!

North/West Melbourne is long overdue for a community garden. No garden of this type exists in the area, it is a much needed resource for the people. In North Melbourne, residential apartments comprise 58% of all housing types, while West Melbourne is set to become ‘the new Southbank’ in the coming years, with many new apartment developments, although with very little new or existing parkland or open space. All these residents who live in small spaces or apartments have little access to space for growing food or keeping a garden.

Community gardens and growing your own produce organically has been proven to cut down on the carbon footprint and environmental impact. 41.4% of the average Melbournians eco-footprint is embodied in the food we buy. This statistic can be easily minimised if people are given the opportunity to choose where their food really comes from.

North Melbourne on the 2011 census scored lower than the overall municipality for all four SEIFA (Socio-Economic Index for Areas) metrics, achieving one of the lowest scores across all the municipality’s small areas. These results indicate pockets of social disadvantage in the area.
It will be an important component of the community garden to include subsidised or free plots set aside for low income earners, Indigenous Australians, refugees, people with disabilities or mental illness.

Potentially, with the community garden we can establish gardening, cooking and food preparation education and support for adults and children. We can also establish ongoing education on healthy eating and food wise choices. Most importantly the community garden will be a space for locals to come together and grow fruit and vegetables of their choice to enjoy.