LIZZIE LEARNS TO... CARE FOR PLANTS

So today I’m going to be writing about one of my favourite destinations on the Fraser Coast. It has made a huge impact on myself and my family, and is the home to so many happy memories.

We’ve adventured there.

We’ve taken pieces of it home with us from the incredible nursery.

But what we’ve never done is take a sneaky peek behind the scenes.

Lucky for me, this is the order of the day for this month’s adventure for Alive.

I’ve been a regular visitor to Bamboo Land Nursery and Parklands over the last decade, and with every visit I’m surprised by either how the place has a) been re-shaped or b) grown.

The familiar creak of the skyscraper-tall bamboo is one of life’s great simple pleasures.

The gentle movement of the Burrum River gliding by is deeply soothing to sit by and admire.

This spectacularly secluded sanctuary is home to all sorts of magic, and of course it starts with the nursery and parkland’s owners, Janne and Tarissa Nilsson.

The pair work tirelessly to bring their vision to life, and were kind enough to open their doors to us to understand what it really takes to run an operation of this magnitude.

(And trust me, magnitude is the right word!)

We all know the dirt road that leads us to the entrance. You turn left, you park and you wander about in the wonderland Janne, Tarissa and the crew have sculpted and curated over time…

But have you ever looked to the right instead?

Across the road from the main gardens is where a different kind of magic happens.

Rows and rows of greenhouse-style structures are brimming with every type of tropical plant imaginable. Lush. Green. Happy.

You’d be surprised to discover the amount of technical prowess used to keep these plants alive and thriving…

They’re watered, nurtured and monitored to the point that if something doesn’t go according to the normal plan, you’d instantly know about it, and have the ability to make whatever tweaks needed before there’s a problem.

I suppose that must be both the blessing and the curse of living on-site… Janne and Tarissa’s work is never done. But there’s likely a lot of satisfaction in knowing you’ll always be there to pitch in where needed, and step in before little things become big things.

Next, we got to meet some of Bamboo Land’s 30 members of staff.

It was so clear that they were super contented in their work, and I totally got it. It’s a physical job, sure, but with that amount of fresh air and nature surrounding you every day, I’m quite sure you’d leave every shift feeling fulfilled and happy in the knowledge that you were doing something that was truly a privilege.

I spent some time with Wendy, who was rehoming some of the Bamboo Land indoor staples. They’d gotten too big for their pots, so it was time to give them a little bit of room and a lot more opportunity to grow.

I think there’s some sort of allegory about life in general in that. Something along the lines of: When you’re feeling stuck and suffocated, it’s a sign you’ve been growing and it’s time for a bigger metaphorical pot!

Wendy had a giant mound of soil in front of her. And I’ve gotta tell you, as I watched her work, floods of memories of gardening with my dad as a kid came rushing back and that rich, earthy aroma enveloped us.

Leaving Wendy and her peers to get on with what they do best, the conversation turned to the future for Bamboo Land.

It’s changed so much since its inception.

But what’s more, even with how far the space has come already, there’s still so much more to come for Bamboo Land.

Janne shared a little of the plans for the future; how much space they still have to work with, how their vision for the giant steel structure we’re all so curious about is finally going to be realised, how the secret orchard behind the rail carriage is going to keep getting bigger (and less secret).

And I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to see it all play out. Everything that’s to come is not only going to be a plus for Bamboo Land itself, but is also the exact thing that puts the whole Fraser Coast on the map once again as a destination for forwardthinking, unmissable brilliance. Great food, a great setting, and of course, great people to boot.

Before we ended our time out in the wilderness, we had one last highlight to tick off the list – saying a big hello to world’s friendliest dog, and Bamboo Land’s unofficial mascot, Ruby. There’s nothing quite so joyful as Ruby gratefully receiving a loving belly rub, or curiously following after you to see what fun and games might be afoot amongst the wilderness.

With all the sights seen, and conversations had, it was time to say goodbye and head home from this hidden piece of tranquillity.

While we may have only visited for a short time this time, one thing is for sure… we’ll be back again, and again, and again…

If you haven’t made it out there before, or even if you have, it’s time to pay Janne, Tarissa and the team a visit, restore yourself in their unique surrounds, and dream of all the possibilities that life spent with nature can offer.

With deep gratitude to Janne and Tarissa for sharing their incredible space with us. You can visit Bamboo Land seven days a week at 77-87 Old Coach Road, Torbanlea QLD 4662. If you can’t make the journey, you can still bring the magic of Bamboo Land straight into your garden by shopping at their website: bambooland.com.au

by Kerrie Alexander

It was clear from the get-go that Alison Chappell was a veteran gardener with her version of a cup of tea being fresh lemon grass and basil picked then and there and piled into a tea pot of boiling water. It was delicious!

With a degree in horticulture and a passion for growing her own food, the volunteer has been a brilliant asset to the Halcro Street Community Garden since it opened 10 years ago.

Alison was inspired to garden at an early age by the ABC documentary Global Gardner hosted by the founder of permaculture, Bill Mollison.

“I have always loved to garden, and I just love growing my food,” Alison said.

“It’s also interesting to learn what you can grow in the different seasons.”

Knowing just what to grown and when to grow it is a major piece of the puzzle that beginner gardeners struggle with and Alison is more than happy to share her mountain of knowledge with anyone willing to give growing a go.

“You have to start small and only grow what you really want to eat,” she said.

“There are so many things that can go wrong at the start and you have to give lots of tender loving care loving care. It’s not a five-minute job!

“That’s what’s great about this community. You can ask other people questions.”

The site that is now home to several different ‘garden plots’ was once an old Telstra depo gifted to council and converted into a thriving community hub for Seniors in Focus Project activities and gatherings.

The Community Garden was first established in 2012 with the help of a Healthy Lifestyles Grant to build all the infrastructure and countless hours of planting by volunteers.

It is now a thriving space that five volunteers use to promote healthy food behaviours and reduce social isolation among a number of at-risk target groups in the Hervey Bay area.

This includes seniors, people with a disability, lowincome earners and those who are new to Hervey Bay, or residents who simply don’t have enough space to grow a garden of their own.

There are several plots that are available for people to hire with any money made going back into running the centre’s programs.

There are five volunteers that visit regularly to do general maintenance on the gardens and those with a hired plot just come and go as they please.

A local disability group have also just put their name down to transform and maintain two of the raised garden beds.

Or like Julie, another valued volunteer, you can simply give your time to help plant fruit and vegetables and tend to the garden with water and weeding of a Thursday morning.

“It’s very relaxing and you get to switch off from what’s going on in the world,” Julie said.

“I just love getting away from everything and I think it’s better than being in your garden because you’re focused on what you’re doing.

“It’s just like a time out.

“It’s also inspired me in my own garden. The ideas and the inspiration I get here, I can put back into my garden.

“I also love meeting people that like the same thing.”

Alison said another great aspect of the garden is that produce grown is often donated to garden members and Community Centre patrons.

“The bits and pieces we grow in the main areas, we share it with the seniors groups and anyone who comes and asks nicely.

“When everything is in season we tend to get a lot of fruit that we hand that out.

“The dragon fruit are coming along; last year we had two buckets full.

“We also have three mulberry bushes and they get loaded so rather than go to waste anyone can come and help themselves.”

Alison has her fingers crossed that the centre will be a recipient of a State Government Community Grant this year with up to $50,000 per garden up for grabs.

“What we want to do is raise the garden beds because one of the real issues we have here is grass; it just invades and smothers everything.

“If we get those beds up and running we can advertise to people who have always wanted to grow their own vegetables to come along and learn how to do it.”

Now that it’s coming to the end of the season Alison said the volunteers will start the process of clearing out a lot of the vegetables including eggplants, corn, cucumbers, Asian greens and snake beans, just to name a few.

So, there’s plenty of garden therapy on offer if anyone is willing to volunteer and give it a go.

“If there’s anyone who wants to come and take over and area, feel proud about it and look after it, they are welcome.”

Give the Halcro Street Community Centre a call on 41942441.