15 Dec 2020

Hi Everyone

Just a quick little note to say a huge thank you to all our friends and members who have helped us make the year a success at the garden despite the challenges that 2020 have brought.

We have continued to maintain and develop the garden and although we were not able to hold our usual seminars and workshops our Open Day was a great success despite the weather.

As we approach Christmas and the hot weather sets in we will need some more help with the garden so we are able to not only water and rake falling leaves from the large blue gums but are also able to do all the other jobs that also need to be done.

If you are able to spare some time on a regular basis to assist please let me know. You will need to be able to commit to a particular time slot and be able to come down to be shown what is required. As people are away over the holidays and cannot sometimes make their usual commitment we will also need some people to act as backups so if you can't commit every week or fortnight perhaps you would be able to fill in when required.

I hope to hear from you as the garden is a very valuable community space and its continuation depends on the support of us all. If you know anyone else who may be interested in helping you could always pass this message to them so they can contact me.

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and hope to see you in the New Year. Look out for our calendar of events that will be circulated early in 2021.

Merry Christmas and stay safe.

christmas garden.jpg
Jo

26 Nov 2020

Hi Everyone

The end of year is nearly upon us and what a year it has been!

Through all the ups and downs we have managed to continue to grow the garden and develop a really strong core of members who are keen to take the garden into 2021 and bring the community loads of exciting events and workshops.

Our End of Year Christmas Get Together will be held at the garden- 55 River Road- on the 5th December 2020.

We would love to see all the familiar faces and those of you who have not visited for a while. Please bring a small plate of food to share and your drinks.

Stay tuned for lots more activities in 2021. Hope to see you soon.

Best wishes for Christmas and 2021.

Jo

Invitation pdf.

3 Nov 2020

Hi All

Dianne has kindly arranged for a photography composition workshop to be hosted in the Kelmscott Community Garden.

Would you like to create beautiful photos? Maybe for a Christmas card this year ? Learn how at Dave Ditchburns' Photography Workshop:
Sat. 14 November 2020 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Purchase Tickets at :

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/.../photography-composition...

Tickets are $15

Thanks again Dianne,

Kind regards
Jacinta
Secretary

28 Oct 2020

Hi All,

Kelmscott Community Garden Planning for 2021 and Committee Meeting is on this Saturday 31 Oct at 2pm - All members are welcome.

If you cannot attend and wish to put forward a planning / event idea ( and most importantly take ownership and run the idea :) ) please reply by email and we will add it to the agenda.

If you normally renew in October, membership fees are due by 30 Nov, an individual reminder will be sent out shortly.

Thanks and hope to see you this Saturday.

Regards,
Jacinta.
Secretary

6 Sept 2020

Hi Everyone

We are getting great feedback from the community about this event. We have had good interest from local artists and sellers who will be setting up stalls on the day. We also have Old Macdonald's Travelling Farm, cooking demonstration, grafting workshop, sausage sizzle, free kids activities and a number of our own fundraising stalls including lovely homemade produce and secondhand goods locked in for the event.

A few things we would like to ask of members and friends are:

The garden is getting a good 'spruce up' for the day and if you have a couple of hours to give us a hand we would be very appreciative of your help during one of the general opening sessions in the lead up to the day.

Also we have a couple of spaces for extra helpers on the day.We need someone to help with the plant stall, someone to take photos and another helper for children's craft activities. Please let me know if you can help in one of these areas for all or some of the time from 10-2.

Lastly if you have any second hand goods of good quality, plants, or are able to make some home produce such as cakes, biscuits, preserves etc for sale for our fundraising stalls please let us know. All produce needs to be labeled with ingredients and wrapped or packaged for sale but does not need to be prepared in a commercially approved kitchen.

Below is a link to the flyer for the Open Day. It would be great if you could please circulate it through your networks.

All we need now is good weather.

Hope to see you on the 19th September and thanks for your interest in the Garden and the help you have given us over the last 3 years.

Jo

Open Day flyer to download.

Sept 5 2020

Hi All,

The date confirmed for the 2020 Annual General Meeting of the Kelmscott Community Garden is Saturday 17th October at 2pm.

All members must be financial by that date to vote / nominate. In 2019 most members renewed between September and November. Most members are financial. Membership Payment reminders will be sent in November for 30 Nov due date.

Nominations and Proxy forms may be submitted prior to the meeting via email or delivery to the garden mailbox at 55 River Road Kelmscott. .

Nominations for Committee of Management and General Committee members:

Note that you may propose or second yourself and vote for yourself at the meeting should there be more than one nomination for the position.

Where no nominations are received for any position, nominations may be taken from the floor at the AGM.

The following positions will be vacated and reappointed at the AGM:

Committee of Management consisting of-
(a) a Chairperson;
(b) a Vice-Chairperson;
(c) a Secretary;
(d) a Treasurer; and
(e) not less than 4 other persons, all of whom must be members of the Association.

Thankyou and hope you can attend the AGM.
Regards,
Jacinta,
Secretary
Kelmscott Community Garden

Forms to download:
AGM Agenda 2020.pdf
Form of Appointment of Proxy.docx
KCG Nomination Form for committee 2020.docx

4th August 2020

Hi All

As part of our celebrations for our 3rd anniversary we will be hosting an Open Day on Saturday 19 September from 10-2.

Please save the date, we would love to welcome as many of our friends and members to the garden to help celebrate.

We are hoping to provide a variety of activities and stalls as part of the day and we would be happy to chat with anyone who has an interest in helping us on the day or anyone who may have an interest in holding their own stall/workshop/info session. Preferably the activities/stalls should be in keeping with the themes of gardening, sustainability or creative/artistic activities. We have limited spaces/timeslots available so interested parties should contact me by the 17 August. Participation cannot be guaranteed but we will try and accommodate as many interested parties as possible.

We would also be interested in speaking with artists or buskers who may be interested in painting en plein air or busking.

Community service groups are free and anyone wishing to sell products will be charged $20 a bay. Market tables and shelters should be provided by the participants. If selling food, vendors will need to apply for their own temporary food permit, public liability insurance and comply with all health requirements regarding sale of food.

Thanks for all your interest in the garden to date and we would love to hear from you regarding your participation or see you at the garden on the day.

Thanks

Jo

21 July 2020

Hi Everyone

Hope you are enjoying this lovely sun after the amazing rain last week.

A couple of things to let you know about -

Busy Bee

We are planning a busy bee on this coming Sunday morning, 26 July at 9 - 11.

We have a couple of jobs to do to finish off our amazing new verandah area such as:
Realigning the slabs and replacing broken ones,
Applying (actually painting! but I know this word scares people!) protective oil onto the verandah wood, no preparation required so its not so bad really
Some general weeding and tidying.

It would be really great to see some of you at the garden to help and we will try and entice you with morning tea!

Open Day

We are also planning an Open Day on 19th September and I would like to get a little group together to help me organise the day. If you are interested in helping let me know. I would like to allocate tasks to particular people so they can be responsible for organsing particular aspects of the day as it is a bit too much for me to do on my own.

Tasks include:
Seek out and liaise with stall holders
Coordinate advertising
Organise information regarding the garden's activities (eg signage and information sheets),
Manage own stalls to sell produce and plants, sausage sizzle
Arrange activity stations (eg children's craft etc).

If you are interested in helping in any way please let me know. It is too large a job for me to take on my own and I need to know that there will be enough helpers to make this happen otherwise we may not be able to go ahead. For those of you who have already let me know you would be willing to take on particular jobs thank you and it has been noted.

It should be loads of fun to organise and if our ideas come to fruition we should be able to host a really lovely community event so I hope we can make this happen together. I would love to hear any other ideas that you may have for the day or ways we could promote the event.

Look forward to hearing from you and seeing you soon.
Kind regardsJ
J o Harris

23 June 2020

Hi All

Members will have received the agenda for the Kelmscott Community Garden for the meeting to be held at 55 River Road Kelmscott at 10am on Saturday 27th June.

Apologies, I didnt make it to the last meeting, I believe last minutes were some time ago and may be outdated now. Probably need to start fresh anyway.

If you have anything to add to the agenda, please email or come along.

Everyone is very welcome, there is the lovely new verandah to sit under, should the weather be inclement.

Kind regards,

Jacinta
Secretary

23 June 2020

Hi KCG Friends & Members

I hope this letterl finds you all well and coping as we emerge back into a more normal way of life. This is to let you know what is happening at the garden presently and to let you know that we will be planning new activities for the rest of 2020 very soon.

Whilst the garden was initially closed and being maintained by a roster of members we have now opened to limited general activity now. You are welcome to visit at the usual general opening hours and for members whenever you wish using the code lock at the front gate. Of course we are still keeping our social distance and maintaining good hygiene practices to ensure we are doing our bit to keep our society safe. We will be submitting a COVID plan to the City of Armadale to ensure we are complying with health requirements.

We will be having a meeting for any members and the committee this coming Saturday, 27 June at 10am. Members will receive an email with the agenda attached. You are all welcome to attend. At that meeting we will be discussing what activities we will be organising for the remainder of 2020.

Importantly we are also very pleased to let you know that we have been the recipient of a very generous offer of labour and materials from Minprovise Mining Consultants which has resulted in our Verandah Project finally being realised. Minprovise utilised their staff who were on Jobkeeper to support a number of not for profit groups and we are very grateful for their generous contribution. We are also grateful to Rob Whitney from Old Macdonald's Farm who used his building expertise to supervise the workers and also to the Second Chance Op Shop from whom we received a $2000 grant towards our verandah which has helped with associated costs and will also be used for further garden improvements.

Please come down to visit and see how we are progressing and watch out for more emails regarding planned future activities.

Kind regards,

Jo

Minprovise Crew under the new verandah.

25 March 2020

Hi All

Things are moving at a rapid rate indeed!

Further to the email of Monday I have been in discussion with some committee members and also the City of Armadale for advice regarding our activities. I have also carefully read the Federal Government directive regarding permitted activities on Council owned lands. Ultimately the City cannot advise us how to interpret the directive given that Community Gardens are not specifically identified. It is therefore our responsibility to ensure that our activities are not putting people's health at risk.

Therefore....the Garden will now be closed to the general public. However, to keep the garden alive and to give some of us something outside of the home to do and thus help keep our sanity we will be organising a roster that will allow 1 or 2 members to be at the garden at any one time.

If you wish to participate in the roster please let me know and I will compile and distribute. The hours of course do not need to comply with the general opening times so you can nominate any time or day that suits you.
It would be really lovely if we could not only water but also continue to develop the garden and grow seedlings and plants so we have a beautiful garden that will bring us all a little joy through this difficult time and in which we can celebrate once the madness is over.

I will create job boards and ensure there is information regarding what jobs need to be done etc so if you are there on your own you have things to keep you busy.

Many thanks and stay safe

Jo

23 March 2020

Hi Everyone

I hope everyone is healthy and coping at this extraordinary time.

I thought it might be prudent to let everyone know what is happening at the Garden.

Currently the garden is still open at the usual general opening hours and is accessible for members who wish to use the code lock to enter at other times. There will obviously be no workshops or seminars for the foreseeable future.

As we gather in small numbers in the open during general opening hours there not immediate need to close the garden, however I will be consulting with the committee very shortly and will let you know of any changes to this.

In the meantime for those who wish to continue to come and garden please DO NOT ATTEND IF YOU HAVE RECENTLY RETURNED FROM OVERSEASE OR INTERSTATE OR HAD CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS RETURNED FORM OVERSEAS OR INTERSTATE OR IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THE SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19 (CONSULT A REPUTABLE HEALTH SOURCE SUCH AS WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION FOR INFORMATION).

For everyone who does attend please ensure you stay 2 metres apart from others who may be there at the same time and also please wash your hands regularly and sneeze or cough into your elbow.

It is important that we all play a responsible part in this pandemic. At present the garden does provide a fairly save haven for many of us and having such a place to go to will help us mentally to get through this time in better health.

However, given developments we may need to eventually cease any socialising and operate on a roster of individuals who can help keep the garden going over the next months. The committee and I will review our decision in the next week in light of government directives and will provide further updates as required.

In the meantime please look after yourselves and your families and friends and stay as physically and mentally active as you can.

Kind regards

Jo

10 March 2020

Hi all,

Thought it might be a nice thing to do and all get together at our local Indian restaurant ‘Rahi’ for a curry.
The reason? No reason, just for fun!

The date I had in mind was Saturday 28th March around 7pm.

If you are interested in this please let me know by return email by the 18th March and I will add you to our table booking.
Of course partners and family members welcome.

Marion Smile

 

3 March 2020

Dear past and present Members,

Just a little update regarding garden access following our recent membership renewal period.

Front Gate Code

The code for the front gate lock will now be changed and all paid up members who are regular volunteers or contributors at the garden will be provided with the new code. The new code will be effective from Thursday 5 March 2020.

After Hours Access for Others

If you are a financial members who is not a regular visitor or volunteer and wish to be given the code please contact me and I can discuss possible after-hours access with you.

Why the Change?

The decision to limit the distribution of the code is to improve our accountability with regards to personal safety and asset protection and to assist with the smooth running of the garden. We feel it is important that anyone who has access to the garden outside of general opening hours are active members who are aware of how the garen works and what is going on with regards to projects and plantings. Many people have been provided with the code over the last two years and some are no longer financial or active members or employees with our group membership organisations. As memberships expire and the garden and activities changes we believe the code distribution list should reflect current active membership.

Log Book

I would also remind everyone that it is imperative that you log in when you visit the garden for any reason whatsoever. If you are unable to get into the shed to write in the book please just put your name and time of your visit on the blackboard outside. This is necessary for insurance and security.

Extension of General Hours

If anyone is interested in committing to a regular gardening session out of the general opening hours please let me know and I am sure this can be arranged. We may even find that we can eventually extend the general opening hours should there be enough members willing to attend different sessions.

Thank you all for your past and continued support and look out for future updates regarding our verandah project and 2020 calendar of events.

Enjoy your autumn gardening,

Jo

23 Feb 2020

Hi All,

Following a successful meeting on 15 February we have begun organisation of the 2020 Calendar.

Key items discussed were the imminent building of our verandah.
Open Day to be arranged for Saturday 5 September.
Planning of the garden beds for the coming Winter.

We also have been so very pleased to have seen this rather long summer through with very little damage to the garden thanks to our army of regular volunteer waterers.

We would love to see you at the garden and look out for some upcoming Events and social gatherings we will be planning in 2020.

Kind regards,
Jo

9 Feb 2020

Hi All

All members will have been emailed the 2020 meeting angenda and minutes. See Events page for details of the meeting.
Please let me know if you have any trouble opening the documents.

All welcome to attend the meeting. Come along to help plan for 2020. Meeting starts 9am on Saturday 15th Feb in the Kelmscott Community Garden. Any agenda items to add please email kelmscottgarden@gmail.com

Many thanks
Kind regards Jacinta Secretary --

25 November 2019

Hi Everyone

It is that time of year again and we are having a small gathering to help celebrate another year at the garden.

Please join us for a very informal but festive evening get together on Friday 13th December from 5.30 onwards at the garden. It is a BYO everything occasion so please bring your drinks and a small plate of food to share.

We are looking forward to having the opportunity to celebrate everything we have achieved this year. Whether you are a regular or occasional contributor or just have an interest in the garden as a community space we would love to see you all so we can say thank you for your interest and support and to show you how much the garden has progressed.

I hope you will be able to join us and friends and family are welcome.

Have a great end of year and hope to see you soon.

Jo

14 November 2019

Hi Friends and Members

We have received an invitation to attend this fantastic workshop. This research gives us all an opportunity to let decision makers know what we love about our area. It is important that as many voices are heard when this type of research is undertaken as it ultimately feeds into planning policy and decision making. We all know that these areas need quite a lot of work to ensure we manage to hold onto what is valued by us all.

If you can attend please do so. If you would like your thoughts to be heard but cannot attend this session I am sure that Dr Neville Ellis would love to hear from you via email and he may be able to advise you on how you can provide your information to the project.

Kind regards,
Jo

See Events page for details.

8 November 2019

Hi All

Due to the very hot weather forecast for Saturday and the unavailability of some committee members we will not be holding the aforementioned KCG meeting on Saturday 9th Nov at 2pm.

The committee shall meet on Wednesday at 9.30 for a brief discussion regarding summer watering roster, Christmas Party and a discussion regarding upcoming activities such as the building of our verandah.

Anyone is welcome to attend this meeting. Otherwise you are welcome to send in any suggestions or comments via email or come along to the garden on one of our open days Mon, Wed, Fri or Sunday 9-11 to have some input into the activities, see what is happening and generally participate.

On a particular matter of watering over summer if you are able to participate in the summer watering roster please let us know by return email providing your preference for days and times. Due to the reticulation it will not be such an onerous task this year.

Hope to see you some time soon. The garden is looking great. Thanks for all your assistance.

Jo
--

7 November 2019

Hi All,

Sorry about the late notice but we have a meeting scheduled for this Saturday at 2pm at the Garden.

Should you wish to add anything please let me know prior and anyone is welcome to come along to the meeting.

Thank you,
Kind regards

Jacinta Rawlinson
Secretary

22 Oct 2019

Hi All,

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who worked so hard prior to and during the show last weekend. 

There were a few circumstances beyond our control ( wind delaying opening of show till 10am & hot day) that may have affected numbers coming over to the garden. 

We did have a few groups of kids that thoroughly enjoyed the activities and the plant sale made $76. 

We got exposure to members of the public who hadnt been aware of the garden and hopefully some new members might join the garden.

Thanks again to Kerry for organising everything and to all our volunteers for spending their time working to make the garden a great success and a lovely place to be!

Kind regards
Jacinta Rawlinson
Secretary

 

31 July 2019.

Hi all...
The committee and attendees to the meeting always bring in the MOST beautiful baked treats and we really need to share a few recipes everytime I think ! THANKYOU ALL FOR BRINGING TREATS TO THE MEETINGS

Jehni brought in the most beautiful sweet treat for our meeting last weekend and a bonus for vegans its perfect for you :)
Delicious! THANKS JEHNI

Jehni's Date and Walnut Loaf 

Ingredients

· 1 cup chopped dates
· 1 tspn bicarb soda
· ¾ cup boiling water
· 65g nuttelex or margarine
· ¼ - ½ cup sugar (to taste)
· ½ mashed banana
· 1.5 cups plain flour
· ½ cup chopped walnuts
· Few drops of vanilla essence

Method

§ Line loaf tin with baking paper. You can also use muffin trays or cupcake patties to cook smaller amounts (times will vary on cooking)
§ Combine chopped dates and bicarb with boiling water. Cover and leave to cool.
§ Cream margarine and sugar till light and fluffy.
§ Mix in mashed banana, dates, walnuts and vanilla essence.
§ Sift in the flour and stir to combine.
§ Pour or spoon into chosen containers and bake at 180 – 190C for 20 – 45 mins or until cooked.

This freezes amazingly well! :)
Thanks All!
Regards,
Jacinta Rawlinson
Secretary

WINNER OF NATIONAL SMART IRRIGATION COMMUNITY PROJECT 13 Dec 2017

Recently the KCG had the most amazing news and the best Christmas present we could have asked for, as we won a $5000 reticulation package prize, compliments of Reece Irrigation and WA Reticulation Services. This was a National competition so we were very fortunate! It will help us enormously to help us grow our garden into something incredible for the community to share. Stay tuned for updates, as we work with David from WA Reticulation Services and Reece Irrigation and look forward to taking ownership of our prize in the near future. Water is such a precious resource and we are fortunate to have fabulous professionals helping us all to make the best use of it. Thanks again to David and Reece Irrigation.

15 Dec 2020

Hi Everyone

Just a quick little note to say a huge thank you to all our friends and members who have helped us make the year a success at the garden despite the challenges that 2020 have brought.

We have continued to maintain and develop the garden and although we were not able to hold our usual seminars and workshops our Open Day was a great success despite the weather.

As we approach Christmas and the hot weather sets in we will need some more help with the garden so we are able to not only water and rake falling leaves from the large blue gums but are also able to do all the other jobs that also need to be done.

If you are able to spare some time on a regular basis to assist please let me know. You will need to be able to commit to a particular time slot and be able to come down to be shown what is required. As people are away over the holidays and cannot sometimes make their usual commitment we will also need some people to act as backups so if you can't commit every week or fortnight perhaps you would be able to fill in when required.

I hope to hear from you as the garden is a very valuable community space and its continuation depends on the support of us all. If you know anyone else who may be interested in helping you could always pass this message to them so they can contact me.

I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and hope to see you in the New Year. Look out for our calendar of events that will be circulated early in 2021.

Merry Christmas and stay safe.

christmas garden.jpg
Jo

26 Nov 2020

Hi Everyone

The end of year is nearly upon us and what a year it has been!

Through all the ups and downs we have managed to continue to grow the garden and develop a really strong core of members who are keen to take the garden into 2021 and bring the community loads of exciting events and workshops.

Our End of Year Christmas Get Together will be held at the garden- 55 River Road- on the 5th December 2020.

We would love to see all the familiar faces and those of you who have not visited for a while. Please bring a small plate of food to share and your drinks.

Stay tuned for lots more activities in 2021. Hope to see you soon.

Best wishes for Christmas and 2021.

Jo

Invitation pdf.

3 Nov 2020

Hi All

Dianne has kindly arranged for a photography composition workshop to be hosted in the Kelmscott Community Garden.

Would you like to create beautiful photos? Maybe for a Christmas card this year ? Learn how at Dave Ditchburns' Photography Workshop:
Sat. 14 November 2020 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

Purchase Tickets at :

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/.../photography-composition...

Tickets are $15

Thanks again Dianne,

Kind regards
Jacinta
Secretary

28 Oct 2020

Hi All,

Kelmscott Community Garden Planning for 2021 and Committee Meeting is on this Saturday 31 Oct at 2pm - All members are welcome.

If you cannot attend and wish to put forward a planning / event idea ( and most importantly take ownership and run the idea :) ) please reply by email and we will add it to the agenda.

If you normally renew in October, membership fees are due by 30 Nov, an individual reminder will be sent out shortly.

Thanks and hope to see you this Saturday.

Regards,
Jacinta.
Secretary

6 Sept 2020

Hi Everyone

We are getting great feedback from the community about this event. We have had good interest from local artists and sellers who will be setting up stalls on the day. We also have Old Macdonald's Travelling Farm, cooking demonstration, grafting workshop, sausage sizzle, free kids activities and a number of our own fundraising stalls including lovely homemade produce and secondhand goods locked in for the event.

A few things we would like to ask of members and friends are:

The garden is getting a good 'spruce up' for the day and if you have a couple of hours to give us a hand we would be very appreciative of your help during one of the general opening sessions in the lead up to the day.

Also we have a couple of spaces for extra helpers on the day.We need someone to help with the plant stall, someone to take photos and another helper for children's craft activities. Please let me know if you can help in one of these areas for all or some of the time from 10-2.

Lastly if you have any second hand goods of good quality, plants, or are able to make some home produce such as cakes, biscuits, preserves etc for sale for our fundraising stalls please let us know. All produce needs to be labeled with ingredients and wrapped or packaged for sale but does not need to be prepared in a commercially approved kitchen.

Below is a link to the flyer for the Open Day. It would be great if you could please circulate it through your networks.

All we need now is good weather.

Hope to see you on the 19th September and thanks for your interest in the Garden and the help you have given us over the last 3 years.

Jo

Open Day flyer to download.

Sept 5 2020

Hi All,

The date confirmed for the 2020 Annual General Meeting of the Kelmscott Community Garden is Saturday 17th October at 2pm.

All members must be financial by that date to vote / nominate. In 2019 most members renewed between September and November. Most members are financial. Membership Payment reminders will be sent in November for 30 Nov due date.

Nominations and Proxy forms may be submitted prior to the meeting via email or delivery to the garden mailbox at 55 River Road Kelmscott. .

Nominations for Committee of Management and General Committee members:

Note that you may propose or second yourself and vote for yourself at the meeting should there be more than one nomination for the position.

Where no nominations are received for any position, nominations may be taken from the floor at the AGM.

The following positions will be vacated and reappointed at the AGM:

Committee of Management consisting of-
(a) a Chairperson;
(b) a Vice-Chairperson;
(c) a Secretary;
(d) a Treasurer; and
(e) not less than 4 other persons, all of whom must be members of the Association.

Thankyou and hope you can attend the AGM.
Regards,
Jacinta,
Secretary
Kelmscott Community Garden

Forms to download:
AGM Agenda 2020.pdf
Form of Appointment of Proxy.docx
KCG Nomination Form for committee 2020.docx

4th August 2020

Hi All

As part of our celebrations for our 3rd anniversary we will be hosting an Open Day on Saturday 19 September from 10-2.

Please save the date, we would love to welcome as many of our friends and members to the garden to help celebrate.

We are hoping to provide a variety of activities and stalls as part of the day and we would be happy to chat with anyone who has an interest in helping us on the day or anyone who may have an interest in holding their own stall/workshop/info session. Preferably the activities/stalls should be in keeping with the themes of gardening, sustainability or creative/artistic activities. We have limited spaces/timeslots available so interested parties should contact me by the 17 August. Participation cannot be guaranteed but we will try and accommodate as many interested parties as possible.

We would also be interested in speaking with artists or buskers who may be interested in painting en plein air or busking.

Community service groups are free and anyone wishing to sell products will be charged $20 a bay. Market tables and shelters should be provided by the participants. If selling food, vendors will need to apply for their own temporary food permit, public liability insurance and comply with all health requirements regarding sale of food.

Thanks for all your interest in the garden to date and we would love to hear from you regarding your participation or see you at the garden on the day.

Thanks

Jo

21 July 2020

Hi Everyone

Hope you are enjoying this lovely sun after the amazing rain last week.

A couple of things to let you know about -

Busy Bee

We are planning a busy bee on this coming Sunday morning, 26 July at 9 - 11.

We have a couple of jobs to do to finish off our amazing new verandah area such as:
Realigning the slabs and replacing broken ones,
Applying (actually painting! but I know this word scares people!) protective oil onto the verandah wood, no preparation required so its not so bad really
Some general weeding and tidying.

It would be really great to see some of you at the garden to help and we will try and entice you with morning tea!

Open Day

We are also planning an Open Day on 19th September and I would like to get a little group together to help me organise the day. If you are interested in helping let me know. I would like to allocate tasks to particular people so they can be responsible for organsing particular aspects of the day as it is a bit too much for me to do on my own.

Tasks include:
Seek out and liaise with stall holders
Coordinate advertising
Organise information regarding the garden's activities (eg signage and information sheets),
Manage own stalls to sell produce and plants, sausage sizzle
Arrange activity stations (eg children's craft etc).

If you are interested in helping in any way please let me know. It is too large a job for me to take on my own and I need to know that there will be enough helpers to make this happen otherwise we may not be able to go ahead. For those of you who have already let me know you would be willing to take on particular jobs thank you and it has been noted.

It should be loads of fun to organise and if our ideas come to fruition we should be able to host a really lovely community event so I hope we can make this happen together. I would love to hear any other ideas that you may have for the day or ways we could promote the event.

Look forward to hearing from you and seeing you soon.
Kind regardsJ
J o Harris

23 June 2020

Hi All

Members will have received the agenda for the Kelmscott Community Garden for the meeting to be held at 55 River Road Kelmscott at 10am on Saturday 27th June.

Apologies, I didnt make it to the last meeting, I believe last minutes were some time ago and may be outdated now. Probably need to start fresh anyway.

If you have anything to add to the agenda, please email or come along.

Everyone is very welcome, there is the lovely new verandah to sit under, should the weather be inclement.

Kind regards,

Jacinta
Secretary

23 June 2020

Hi KCG Friends & Members

I hope this letterl finds you all well and coping as we emerge back into a more normal way of life. This is to let you know what is happening at the garden presently and to let you know that we will be planning new activities for the rest of 2020 very soon.

Whilst the garden was initially closed and being maintained by a roster of members we have now opened to limited general activity now. You are welcome to visit at the usual general opening hours and for members whenever you wish using the code lock at the front gate. Of course we are still keeping our social distance and maintaining good hygiene practices to ensure we are doing our bit to keep our society safe. We will be submitting a COVID plan to the City of Armadale to ensure we are complying with health requirements.

We will be having a meeting for any members and the committee this coming Saturday, 27 June at 10am. Members will receive an email with the agenda attached. You are all welcome to attend. At that meeting we will be discussing what activities we will be organising for the remainder of 2020.

Importantly we are also very pleased to let you know that we have been the recipient of a very generous offer of labour and materials from Minprovise Mining Consultants which has resulted in our Verandah Project finally being realised. Minprovise utilised their staff who were on Jobkeeper to support a number of not for profit groups and we are very grateful for their generous contribution. We are also grateful to Rob Whitney from Old Macdonald's Farm who used his building expertise to supervise the workers and also to the Second Chance Op Shop from whom we received a $2000 grant towards our verandah which has helped with associated costs and will also be used for further garden improvements.

Please come down to visit and see how we are progressing and watch out for more emails regarding planned future activities.

Kind regards,

Jo

Minprovise Crew under the new verandah.

25 March 2020

Hi All

Things are moving at a rapid rate indeed!

Further to the email of Monday I have been in discussion with some committee members and also the City of Armadale for advice regarding our activities. I have also carefully read the Federal Government directive regarding permitted activities on Council owned lands. Ultimately the City cannot advise us how to interpret the directive given that Community Gardens are not specifically identified. It is therefore our responsibility to ensure that our activities are not putting people's health at risk.

Therefore....the Garden will now be closed to the general public. However, to keep the garden alive and to give some of us something outside of the home to do and thus help keep our sanity we will be organising a roster that will allow 1 or 2 members to be at the garden at any one time.

If you wish to participate in the roster please let me know and I will compile and distribute. The hours of course do not need to comply with the general opening times so you can nominate any time or day that suits you.
It would be really lovely if we could not only water but also continue to develop the garden and grow seedlings and plants so we have a beautiful garden that will bring us all a little joy through this difficult time and in which we can celebrate once the madness is over.

I will create job boards and ensure there is information regarding what jobs need to be done etc so if you are there on your own you have things to keep you busy.

Many thanks and stay safe

Jo

23 March 2020

Hi Everyone

I hope everyone is healthy and coping at this extraordinary time.

I thought it might be prudent to let everyone know what is happening at the Garden.

Currently the garden is still open at the usual general opening hours and is accessible for members who wish to use the code lock to enter at other times. There will obviously be no workshops or seminars for the foreseeable future.

As we gather in small numbers in the open during general opening hours there not immediate need to close the garden, however I will be consulting with the committee very shortly and will let you know of any changes to this.

In the meantime for those who wish to continue to come and garden please DO NOT ATTEND IF YOU HAVE RECENTLY RETURNED FROM OVERSEASE OR INTERSTATE OR HAD CONTACT WITH SOMEONE WHO HAS RETURNED FORM OVERSEAS OR INTERSTATE OR IF YOU HAVE ANY OF THE SYMPTOMS OF COVID-19 (CONSULT A REPUTABLE HEALTH SOURCE SUCH AS WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION FOR INFORMATION).

For everyone who does attend please ensure you stay 2 metres apart from others who may be there at the same time and also please wash your hands regularly and sneeze or cough into your elbow.

It is important that we all play a responsible part in this pandemic. At present the garden does provide a fairly save haven for many of us and having such a place to go to will help us mentally to get through this time in better health.

However, given developments we may need to eventually cease any socialising and operate on a roster of individuals who can help keep the garden going over the next months. The committee and I will review our decision in the next week in light of government directives and will provide further updates as required.

In the meantime please look after yourselves and your families and friends and stay as physically and mentally active as you can.

Kind regards

Jo

10 March 2020

Hi all,

Thought it might be a nice thing to do and all get together at our local Indian restaurant ‘Rahi’ for a curry.
The reason? No reason, just for fun!

The date I had in mind was Saturday 28th March around 7pm.

If you are interested in this please let me know by return email by the 18th March and I will add you to our table booking.
Of course partners and family members welcome.

Marion Smile

3 March 2020

Dear past and present Members,

Just a little update regarding garden access following our recent membership renewal period.

Front Gate Code

The code for the front gate lock will now be changed and all paid up members who are regular volunteers or contributors at the garden will be provided with the new code. The new code will be effective from Thursday 5 March 2020.

After Hours Access for Others

If you are a financial members who is not a regular visitor or volunteer and wish to be given the code please contact me and I can discuss possible after-hours access with you.

Why the Change?

The decision to limit the distribution of the code is to improve our accountability with regards to personal safety and asset protection and to assist with the smooth running of the garden. We feel it is important that anyone who has access to the garden outside of general opening hours are active members who are aware of how the garen works and what is going on with regards to projects and plantings. Many people have been provided with the code over the last two years and some are no longer financial or active members or employees with our group membership organisations. As memberships expire and the garden and activities changes we believe the code distribution list should reflect current active membership.

Log Book

I would also remind everyone that it is imperative that you log in when you visit the garden for any reason whatsoever. If you are unable to get into the shed to write in the book please just put your name and time of your visit on the blackboard outside. This is necessary for insurance and security.

Extension of General Hours

If anyone is interested in committing to a regular gardening session out of the general opening hours please let me know and I am sure this can be arranged. We may even find that we can eventually extend the general opening hours should there be enough members willing to attend different sessions.

Thank you all for your past and continued support and look out for future updates regarding our verandah project and 2020 calendar of events.

Enjoy your autumn gardening,

Jo

23 Feb 2020

Hi All,

Following a successful meeting on 15 February we have begun organisation of the 2020 Calendar.

Key items discussed were the imminent building of our verandah.
Open Day to be arranged for Saturday 5 September.
Planning of the garden beds for the coming Winter.

We also have been so very pleased to have seen this rather long summer through with very little damage to the garden thanks to our army of regular volunteer waterers.

We would love to see you at the garden and look out for some upcoming Events and social gatherings we will be planning in 2020.

Kind regards,
Jo

9 Feb 2020

Hi All

All members will have been emailed the 2020 meeting angenda and minutes. See Events page for details of the meeting.
Please let me know if you have any trouble opening the documents.

All welcome to attend the meeting. Come along to help plan for 2020. Meeting starts 9am on Saturday 15th Feb in the Kelmscott Community Garden. Any agenda items to add please email kelmscottgarden@gmail.com

Many thanks
Kind regards Jacinta Secretary --

25 November 2019

Hi Everyone

It is that time of year again and we are having a small gathering to help celebrate another year at the garden.

Please join us for a very informal but festive evening get together on Friday 13th December from 5.30 onwards at the garden. It is a BYO everything occasion so please bring your drinks and a small plate of food to share.

We are looking forward to having the opportunity to celebrate everything we have achieved this year. Whether you are a regular or occasional contributor or just have an interest in the garden as a community space we would love to see you all so we can say thank you for your interest and support and to show you how much the garden has progressed.

I hope you will be able to join us and friends and family are welcome.

Have a great end of year and hope to see you soon.

Jo

14 November 2019

Hi Friends and Members

We have received an invitation to attend this fantastic workshop. This research gives us all an opportunity to let decision makers know what we love about our area. It is important that as many voices are heard when this type of research is undertaken as it ultimately feeds into planning policy and decision making. We all know that these areas need quite a lot of work to ensure we manage to hold onto what is valued by us all.

If you can attend please do so. If you would like your thoughts to be heard but cannot attend this session I am sure that Dr Neville Ellis would love to hear from you via email and he may be able to advise you on how you can provide your information to the project.

Kind regards,
Jo

See Events page for details.

8 November 2019

Hi All

Due to the very hot weather forecast for Saturday and the unavailability of some committee members we will not be holding the aforementioned KCG meeting on Saturday 9th Nov at 2pm.

The committee shall meet on Wednesday at 9.30 for a brief discussion regarding summer watering roster, Christmas Party and a discussion regarding upcoming activities such as the building of our verandah.

Anyone is welcome to attend this meeting. Otherwise you are welcome to send in any suggestions or comments via email or come along to the garden on one of our open days Mon, Wed, Fri or Sunday 9-11 to have some input into the activities, see what is happening and generally participate.

On a particular matter of watering over summer if you are able to participate in the summer watering roster please let us know by return email providing your preference for days and times. Due to the reticulation it will not be such an onerous task this year.

Hope to see you some time soon. The garden is looking great. Thanks for all your assistance.

Jo
--

7 November 2019

Hi All,

Sorry about the late notice but we have a meeting scheduled for this Saturday at 2pm at the Garden.

Should you wish to add anything please let me know prior and anyone is welcome to come along to the meeting.

Thank you,
Kind regards

Jacinta Rawlinson
Secretary

22 Oct 2019

Hi All,

Thank you to our wonderful volunteers who worked so hard prior to and during the show last weekend. 

There were a few circumstances beyond our control ( wind delaying opening of show till 10am & hot day) that may have affected numbers coming over to the garden. 

We did have a few groups of kids that thoroughly enjoyed the activities and the plant sale made $76. 

We got exposure to members of the public who hadnt been aware of the garden and hopefully some new members might join the garden.

Thanks again to Kerry for organising everything and to all our volunteers for spending their time working to make the garden a great success and a lovely place to be!

Kind regards
Jacinta Rawlinson
Secretary