Community support
GIVING BACK
Supporting community wellbeing through gardening
The Diggers Foundation has developed a Community Partnership Program in order to assist more schools, families and organisations to have access to growing their own food.
We connect with groups on a regular basis who seek our support to help them grow productive gardens. Thanks to our staff who volunteer their time, our members and donors, we have been able to assist many groups across Australia connect with their food source, for personal wellbeing and a healthier planet. This includes productive gardens for women leaving domestic violence situations, those living in affordable housing communities, community gardens and organisations assisting those recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Just some of the community programs are outlined below.
If you are a school or community group interested in our support, please get in touch with us by emailing rachelb@diggers.com.au
Bunjilwarra
Diggers Foundation co-founder, Penny Blazey worked as a correctional counsel officer for youth and experienced first-hand the devastation drug and alcohol abuse has on lives.
This is a particularly complicated problem for Indigenous youth so the Bunjilwarra model of care, draws heavily from the Aboriginal designed Social and Emotional Wellbeing framework which locates individuals at the centre of an intersecting and layered wheel acknowledging colonisation, relationship to country and kinship.
The Bunjilwarra program is staged to reflect the healing journey and growth experience for Aboriginal youth and is designed to support the developmental needs of young people with a focus on vocational pathways.
Our team are working closely with the Bunjilwarra Koori Youth Alcohol and Drug Healing staff to help prepare vegetable beds and gardens that will form part of their recovery program.
Primary school program
Through a community partnership between The Diggers Foundation, The Botanical Gardens Victoria (Melbourne and Cranbourne) and Ardoch Youth Foundation we have developed ‘The Lifecycle of a Seed’ program.
Ardoch is a children’s education charity focused on improving educational outcomes for children and young people in disadvantaged communities. This program will enable schools to bring young people to our gardens for a STEM experience where they learn that like them, a seed has the potential to grow provided the right conditions are provided.
It is a hands-on experience with the children planting and learning how to preserve seeds so they can return to their classrooms and backyards and create their own kitchen garden. A mindfulness exercise is incorporated to connect children to nature and strengthen their resilience – much like a tree that has weathered numerous storms.
Stephanie Alexander partnership
Diggers is providing the Kitchen Garden Foundation with seeds through our ‘Seed the Future’ program and offering a free two-year Diggers membership to schools that sign up to the program, giving them access to our gardening educational tools to ensure gardening and cooking success.
Everyone deserves the opportunity to learn, grow and eat delicious homegrown produce, and by sharing this knowledge with school children, we are enabling the cultivation of positive food habits for life.
High school program
The concept and reality of climate change is daunting for adults, let alone kids. The Diggers Foundation is partnering with Grassroots Sustainability to deliver a ‘Farm My School’ program that is all about educating to maximise behaviour change for a healthier environment and a brighter future.
The aim is to educate and inspire people of all ages through fun, engaging and interactive activities which are bound to change the way people live their everyday life.
Climate collaboration
Diggers pioneered climate data for Australian gardeners in the 1990s and now we're sponsoring a PhD student from Monash University to undertake climate research and update this vital information.
With the support of the Bureau of Meteorology and the CSIRO, this project will provide valuable data on our changing seasons, temperatures and rainfall to assist gardeners in our current growing conditions.
SUPPORT US
Donate to our Community Partnership programs
Through our partnership with The Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, you are able to make a tax-deductible donation to help fund our community partnership programs. We are sincerely grateful for any support you can provide.