Balcony to Bay: Gardening our city centre

‘Balcony to Bay: Gardening our City Centre’ 

A free in-person event for all ages. 

Sat 5th August

10-12pm 

St-Matthews-in-the-City 

From balcony plant pots, to urban farms, native bush to planter boxes, community gardens to compost hubs, local parks to shellfish nurseries in the harbour... Our city centre is full of growing potential and full of potential gardeners of all ages and walks of life. 

How do we create the conditions for more plant, insect, bird and fish life in the city centre? And in turn provide food for our community, nature classrooms for our kids, seed libraries for opportunities to meet and work together as neighbourhoods and groups, easy ways to send food scraps for composting, and a city centre more resilient to extreme weather. 

We can all play a role, whether it’s as a gardener, an organiser, a storyteller or content creator, an advocate, an educator, a connector, a sponsor, or a citizen scientist. It takes a village to garden our City Centre! 

Join us at St-Matthews-in-the-City to hear stories from their community garden & compost hub (Hobson St). You’ll also hear stories of our unique landscape and ecosystems of the city centre, from the dense forest of the Grafton Gully to the hidden springs and rivers, and the way humans have gardened the city centre landscape for 100s of years. 

What to bring with you: 

• An example of a place in the city centre you care for (or want to contribute to caring for) eg. A street planter box, your balcony, a local park you want to volunteer at, a spring, a compost hub you use, a patch of weeds growing in the cut-through between buildings. 
• Raincoat, umbrella and warm clothes (we will be moving between the garden and the church building)
• A plate of finger food for sharing (please label your food appropriately for people who may have allergies) 

What we will provide: 

• Art materials, nature play activities and photos challenges (for the young and young at heart) 
• Tea/coffee
• Inspiring stories! 
• Opportunities to capture your ideas and learnings (pens and paper provided)  
• Opportunities to connect with others in your community with shared interest 
• Opportunities to discover ways you can play a role in gardening the City Centre (in your own way, in your part of the city).