University of Queensland
IN-7: Community Garden

UQ's community gardens provide a space for staff and students to grow their own fresh food alongside other new and experienced gardeners. The two gardens, located at St Lucia campus and Gatton campus, provide a practical way to develop a stronger connection to the food we eat and the environment we live in. The gardens also promote social interaction across generations, disciplines and cultures through gardening, healthy eating and sharing skills and knowledge.
St Lucia campus - The Community Garden is an accessible, multi-functional outdoor classroom in the heart of the St Lucia campus. It serves as an area where students, staff, and community members can come together to garden, prepare and cook freshly harvested produce, learn and relax outdoors. The garden can host workshops, activities and provide opportunities for people to volunteer and socialise. It features eight raised beds, an orchard, an outdoor kitchen and sink to wash the freshly harvested produce, tool shed, compost facilities and a rainwater tank. The surrounding gardens, BBQ pavilion and outdoor seating provides a welcoming place where the community can gather and relax. Student, staff and community members are invited to become a member of the Community Garden Club, a UQU affiliated Club. The Community Garden hosts regular events throughout semester time, including weekly working bees, workshops, activities, planting days, BBQs and picnics.
Gatton Campus –The Gatton Community Garden supports a thriving community with 38 garden beds, a soil pit and an outdoor seating area. This garden owes its success to its dedicated members, particularly the UQ Plant Science Society. The outdoor deck provides a space for academics to teach crop production, soil science and disease identification in a practical setting. The garden includes a fenced off area to grow plants that are poisonous to animals to assist veterinary students in identifying these plants.

Information on UQ's community gardens at St Lucia and Gatton campuses is available online:
https://sustainability.uq.edu.au/projects/sustainable-food/uq-campus-community-gardens

Also see our student's UQ Community Garden Club facebook pages:
St Lucia campus https://www.facebook.com/CommunityGardenUq/
Gatton campus https://www.facebook.com/groups/1395840570633559/

There are currently 1920 community members following with 1680 (St Lucia) and 240
(Gatton). There are 46 garden beds over both community gardens and the gardens are open to the public.