Koongal's green thumb residents are ready to get their hands dirty and make a difference in their area with the creation of an edible community garden.
The Koongal Community Garden group, made up of 25 members, were given the green light to develop the garden in a section of Koongal's Cavan Street Recreational Reserve at this week's Council meeting.
Council's Chair of Parks and Recreation, Acting Mayor Cherie Rutherford said it was wonderful to see community use of our parks and reserves.
"This community garden will give those residents an opportunity to take pride in their neighbourhood and a sense of contribution towards transforming a part of this reserve into a beautiful space that they can enjoy," Cr Rutherford said.
Divisional Councillor Tony Williams has worked with the group to help get approval to use the land. He says it's a project that will foster a connected neighbourhood.
"The recreation reserve is currently a void which backs onto a number of residents who happen to be avid gardeners and members of the group who are keen beautify the space and grow an edible garden," Cr Williams said.
"This is a great initiative of the Koongal residents and one that I was more than happy to help get off the ground and I would like to commend Council for approving this request.
The gardening group will look at growing and harvesting their own produce across 72 plots and will use a drip feed system that will supply enough water to keep the garden flourishing.
Chairman of The Koongal Community Garden Group, Bill White, said they've got big plans for the garden, which is purely a place for community.
"We want to make it a place people are happy to go to and we want to keep an orderly and neat garden for the benefit of not only Koongal, but for Rockhampton," Mr White said.
"We want this area to draw people to it so that it gets fully used. You will be able to go down there with your basket and fill it with food for a few days, and it can help ease the burden for people and pensioners who struggle - a box of vegetables can make a big difference to someone's pension cheque.
"This is something that suits our demographic and there's a huge cross of nationalities which is great when building a community garden. We are really starting to develop a sense of pride and community here in Koongal.
"Now that we have this part of it settled we will apply for grants to build the gardens beds. We are very grateful for Council's approval to use this land and we have got very big long term plans."
