As you may have already seen on our Facebook page - Narrandera Food Garden is joining forces with Narrandera Landcare Group!
We are doing this because both the Food Garden and the Landcare group are small local community groups and have similar interests (Kimberley and Betty have been members of both all along). Given our overlap in interests, the committees of both organisations thought it made sense to work together and share resources and insurance costs for all our volunteers. This will also help us in our efforts to attract funding for workshops, new gardening resources, and guest speakers, as we will no longer be competing against the Landcare group for the same grants.
Joining forces with the Landcare group will also give us the chance to get to know other local volunteers and share our ideas and expertise with each other, which of course is the reason many of us joined the community gardens in the first place!
What does this mean for members?
All paid-up members of the Food Garden are now also members of the Landcare group; from now on your $40 to become a gardener and secure your own plot for the year will likewise cover a year's membership with the Landcare group. This is an inclusive cost - there is no extra fee to cover Landcare membership, it's just the same $40 it's always been.
Does this mean members have to attend Landcare group meetings and activities?
No. You may attend or not attend Landcare meetings and other events as you please, there is no obligation to go to monthly meetings if you'd rather not, although you will be most welcome if you do choose to go along, the Landcare group are a friendly bunch and would love to meet new people.
What does it mean for the Food Garden and committee?
The Food Garden will continue to operate as usual, with its own committee (now officially a sub-committee of the Landcare group, who will represent the Gardens at Landcare meetings), and we will stick to our plan of having get-togethers and workshops throughout the year. Both organisations will continue to maintain their own Facebook pages and websites/blogs.
In short: Food Garden members are now members of Landcare at no extra cost and are encouraged attend Landcare meetings and events if they so wish, but if you'd rather ignore the whole Landcare side of things you can continue on as normal and nothing will change.
If you'd like to find out more about the Landcare group you can visit their website or Facebook page, or head along to a Landcare meeting (held the 4th Tuesday of every month at 7:30pm at the Ex-Servicemen's Club).
