Lighthouse Foundation creates edible garden oasis for families in need with community grant
The Lighthouse Foundation will use the $4820 grant to install a 2500-litre rainwater tank as part of a project to create a sustainable and therapeutic edible garden. The garden will provide a supportive space for young parents and their children at the Lighthouse home in Heathmont.
Lighthouse Foundation grants manager Anna Kilgour said the new garden aimed to promote learning and enjoyment of gardening, water sustainability and healthy eating.
“The project will convert a barren and rarely used outdoor space into a nurturing and therapeutic environment. It will be a space where young families can learn new skills, engage in nature-based activities, and gain a sense of accomplishment, self-worth and community connection,” Ms Kilgour said.
The Lighthouse Foundation provides young people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness, with the care and support they need to heal, thrive and achieve a lifelong sense of belonging.
Lighthouse homes accommodate young people who live alongside Lighthouse carers, supported by the wider Lighthouse care team.
Along with the rainwater tank, the Yarra Valley Water community grant will fund a pump and switching device to help maintain the new edible garden with a sustainable water supply.
Ms Kilgour said the grant meant the garden could be maintained with water in an environmentally responsible way, while providing a safe outdoor space for the Heathmont home’s residents.
“This will help bring our community together,” Ms Kilgour said. “It will improve mental and physical wellbeing, while enhancing community connections.”
She said the young people would work with a community committee of local volunteers to plan, establish and maintain the edible garden.
“People will learn about sustainable water and gardening practices as well as different plant-based foods, healthy eating and affordable cooking for a family,” she said.
“This experience will empower families with lifelong knowledge they would otherwise never have had the opportunity to develop. It will provide the joy and therapeutic benefits of gardening and producing food at home, and a wonderful way to connect with their children and community.”
Yarra Valley Water’s General Manager Strategy and Community, Tiffany White, said the water corporation was proud to support charities like the Lighthouse Foundation by helping to enable projects that had a lasting positive impact.
“It‘s a real pleasure to be able to support the Lighthouse Foundation’s work to help young families and the community volunteers who make projects like this possible. We’re excited to see the new garden take shape and provide the foundation for an ongoing program to help families build on healthy eating habits - enabled by great gardening know-how,” Ms White said.
“The project will provide immediate and long-lasting benefits for those involved and the entire community,” she said.