Adjacent to the Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary Learning Centre, a proposed Throsby Community Garden began as a joint project between the Suburban Land Agency and the Woodlands and Wetlands Trust. The proposal was developed in response to community interest in developing additional community gardens in the Gungahlin area.

The Suburban Land Agency’s Mingle team supported the Woodlands and Wetlands Trust to deliver a joint community engagement project to determine the level of community support for the proposed Throsby Community Garden.

The first stage of engagement was a survey on the YourSay website that took place in June and July 2020.

The community garden proposal generally received support and positive feedback from a range of residents and other stakeholders, however some submissions in the engagement opposed the proposed location. Click here to read the Listening Report from the survey.

On 13 February 2021, a community workshop was undertaken with discussions and ideas put forward by the participants. Click here to read the Listening Report from the community workshop.

26 residents attended the workshop in person and one person joined online. The majority of participants resided in Throsby. Others came from surrounding Gungahlin Suburbs, including Harrison and Forde.

The community workshop highlighted a range of thoughts and ideas for consideration in planning for the proposed garden. Key items raised include:

1. Location: The location of the proposed community garden should be carefully considered, paying particular attention to suggested impacts of intermittent, localised flooding and the impact to local amenity, traffic flow and parking.
2. Maintenance: In establishing the Throsby Community Garden, efforts should be made to mitigate the risk of it falling into disrepair or becoming poorly maintained.
3. Learning: The opportunity to create a learning environment was the most popular topic as part of the participants’ hopes and dreams for the Throsby community garden. With this in mind, careful consideration should be paid to creating a built environment and relevant policies and procedures that promote a community garden where people can learn new skills and share ideas with one another.
4. Purpose and inclusions: Food production was a popular aspiration for participants, however, other notable suggestions such as planting flowers and ornamental plants or simply creating an appealing outdoor garden space were among other suggestions that should be reviewed.

The Suburban Land Agency does not intend to undertake further consultation around a proposed community garden adjacent to the Learning Centre in Throsby. The future of the project is with the Woodlands and Wetlands Trust to progress.

The proposed community garden site, adjacent to the Learning Centre is public land that is currently under the custodianship of Transport Canberra and City Services. Given the opposition to the proposed location, the Woodlands and Wetlands Trust is not prioritising development of this site.

The Learning Centre is currently still under construction. The Woodlands and Wetlands trust will seek to accommodate the community enthusiasm for gardening and knowledge-sharing in the landscape around Learning Centre including possible areas for food growing.

Please email admin_support@woodlandsandwetlands.org.au if you would like to be part of a volunteer group focused on aspects of landscaping around the Learning Centre.

If, in the future, there is sufficient community support to develop a garden on the site originally proposed, community groups may apply to Transport Canberra and City Services for a licence to use the public land. In deciding whether to grant a licence, Transport Canberra and City Services will review consultation undertaken by the Suburban Land Agency, including objections to the location voiced by some community members.