Since December 2022, the Order of Malta and ACU Community Hub Mobile Community Café has been in operation in Darebin, providing an informal and safe space for isolated or disadvantaged people to meet, share food and engage in informal conversation. These meetings also provide an opportunity for participants to seek assistance and connect community members with other services and support available to them. It has also identified other needs of the residents that the Hub can assist with.

An outcome of the Mobile Community Café has been the development of a community garden at one of the locations it visits.

Following months of conversation, planning and negotiating, the Agg Street Community Garden program is now in full swing. Many residents are keen gardeners, and this common interest was identified as a way to bring the multi-cultural Agg Street community together as gardens have no language barriers. Of the 55 senior residents (aged 55+), many live on their own and experience, to varying degrees, loneliness and isolation (based on qualitative feedback).

The aim of the garden is to provide a safe place where people can come together to grow food, get to know each other, and build community – to reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness, and support positive mental health. In addition, the project aims to address place-based socio-economic disadvantage and health inequity through building the capacity of the residents to improve their food security.

Supported by the Order of Malta and ACU Community Hub, a Darebin Council Community Connector Officer and SPAN Neighbourhood House, the project has been split into three different stages. Throughout the planning of the three stages the group has been guided by the Community Gardens Australia checklist to refine their vision and address challenges including how to manage setbacks (e.g., vandalism) and how to fill gaps in skills and knowledge.

The first stage was to plant eight fruit/ nut trees that were donated by the community. The second stage was to plant native plants in consultation with Darebin Gardens for Wildlife. Both stages were completed in June.

For the third phase of the project, the Order of Malta and ACU Community Hub in partnership with the residents, successfully applied for a small grant as part of the 2024/25 Darebin Community Grants program. The Agg Street Community Garden project was awarded $1,800 to purchase raised garden beds, which will soon be installed, followed by a ‘launch’ event to officially celebrate the establishment of the garden.

“The garden has been an important development for the Hub”, explains Anna Vandierendonck, Order of Malta & ACU Community Hub Project Officer. “It has been wonderful to see how the volunteers have supported the residents’ vision to establish a community garden, either through joining conversations to further refine their grant application, or through sharing tips and tricks on how to manage pesky garden pests”.

The Order of Malta and ACU Community Hub partnership undertakes projects to provide a range life-changing engagement initiatives with groups who experience disadvantage and marginalisation. Please consider a tax-deductible donation to support this work.

The Order of Malta and ACU Community Hub Mobile Community Café is actively seeking volunteers.

LEARN MORE