2024 CGA Award Winners

• 28/11/202409/12/2024
• Awards

Congratulations to all the winners of our 2024 Community Garden Awards. The winners were announced at the CGA National Gathering on the Gold Coast on Saturday 9th November.

Thanks to our sponsor WaterUps for supporting the 2024 Community Garden Awards.

If you are not a member of CGA yet, you can join and receive a 20% discount from WaterUPs — visit our member discount page for more details.

COMMUNITY CHAMPION AWARD for gardens that reach out to their communities.

WINNER: Gapuwiyak School Community Garden, Gapuwiyak Aboriginal Community, Arnhem Land, NT

The Gapuwiyak School Community Garden started in 2020 when the community raised concerns about food security during the pandemic. What if fresh food supplied couldn’t be delivered? Students at the school suggested they start a food garden at the school, and the garden was created in a derelict patch of dirt behind the school shed. 

Four years in they have harvested just under 2 tonnes of cassava, one and a half tonnes of sweet potato, hundreds of kilos of tomatoes and lots of other vegetables. There is also a continuous supply of papaya and bananas from the garden.

The garden has been embraced by the community where volunteering in a community space is not readily done. Locals are protective of the patch and some people help in the garden from time to time. The garden is a community resource for food, plant materials and learning skills. The produce is sold and readily bought by community members. Plants are sold or given away for people to grow in their own gardens and skills are learnt by kids in the VET (vocational education and training) classes, which are then passed onto their family members or by people asking questions through the fence, watching over time how things grow or coming and helping a little in the garden. 

COMMUNITY GARDENER OF THE YEAR for a quiet achiever who is always there to support others.

WINNER: Riverwood Community Garden, Riverwood, NSW

In their own words: “Gemma Garcia Mandanas is an extraordinary member of our garden. She manages the compost area, separating greens from browns, and participates in every workshop and working bee. She also collects veggie scraps from local grocers, maintains the green waste, and regularly provides refreshments for fellow gardeners. As a single mother battling stage 4 cancer, Gemma views her involvement as a way to give back and support her mental health. Despite her illness, she never lets it stop her from contributing. Without a car, she relies on public transport or walks to gather and pick up the compost materials for the garden.”

YOUNG COMMUNITY GARDENER OF THE YEAR for people up to 25 years old who contribute effort and ideas.

WINNER: Silas Joyce of Seed Lakeside Community Garden, Sale, VIC

In their own words: “Young Silas arrives at Seed Community Garden’s monthly working bee with gusto. He loves learning about regular gardening tasks, collecting bugs and insects and feeding the chickens. Silas and his Mum support Seed by collecting eggs and feeding the chickens during the week so we can sell them. Silas is so proud to be a member of Seed and we love having him!”

SUSTAINABILITY CHAMPION AWARD for gardens using great ideas that improve environmental resilience.

WINNER: Yarra Valley ECOSS Community Garden, Wesburn, VIC

ECOSS has a garden called Pollination Place which has a number of initiatives underway, including a Community Viticulture Project, some BioChar Test Plots, some Composting Trials, Mushroom growing and a Silviculture Patch.  There are a number of volunteers with various levels of experience (from beginners to experts) who are undertaking organic growing trials with various types of grapes, blackberries and other ‘weeds’ and things that might otherwise be discarded.  

The information found in these trials will inform community about carbon drawdown methods and soil remediation through biochar usage, and organic wine production in the region. We are producing various recipes utilising ‘weeds’ and advice on how to compost difficult materials and create a circular economy with waste.  

BIODIVERSITY CHAMPION AWARD for a garden promoting greater biodiversity both within the garden and in the wider community.

WINNER: Hawkesbury Earthcare Centre, Richmond, NSW

The installation of a native pollinator garden amongst existing trees and the installation of an indigenous edible food forest has incorporated native, indigenous and endemic plants, specific plants to accommodate migratory and endangered species. Plants provide food for fauna, and habitat and act as a wildlife corridor, promoting biodiversity and self-sustaining ecosystems.

In the community garden section on the eastern boundary, there are many garden plots with a myriad of plants providing food and relaxation among members and visitors.

We would love to offer more courses with and without funding to promote eco-literacy within our communities.

PERMACULTURE CHAMPION AWARD for gardens that have put inspiring ideas into action and champion permaculture practice.

WINNER: Northey Street City Farm, Windsor, QLD

The purpose of NSCF is primarily about being a permaculture demonstration site. When we make design decisions, we do this by being guided by permaculture principles and paying attention to patterns of nature. We demonstrate zones 0 to 5, from our central kitchen (zone 0) to our bush regeneration area (zone 5). We aim to put permaculture principles into practice as much as possible – for example, prioritising diverse plantings (permaculture principle ‘use and value diversity’), by running a community composting hub (permaculture principle ‘produce no waste’) and integrating bees, chickens and worms into our system (permaculture principle ‘integrate rather than segregate’).