By Sharon Webb

MOLE CREEK Community Garden will buy a new water tank and a storage shed from a State Government grant of $4153. Garden co-ordinator, Jill Harvey, said that the garden needed a storage place for tools since many had been donated by community members and the Mole Creek Hotel. ‘With a new tank we will be able to hook up for watering in our hot-house,’ she said. The community garden was established about four years ago, with vegetables being the favourite plants along with a few recently-established fruit trees.

‘Our older residents love to come along to the garden to collect some vegies and we have about five volunteers who come to work there and bring their children,’ Ms Harvey said. ‘Mole Creek School has its own section and the kindergarten children enjoy visiting.’ A side-shoot of the community garden, located next to the community swimming pool, has been the establishment of a men’s shed on a nearby site – inspired by the success of the garden, Ms Harvey said. The Mole Creek Progress Association applied for the grant from the 2019–2020 Community Support Levy, supported by Deloraine House.

The levy is funded from a percentage of profits from gambling venues in Tasmania. About $200,000 was allocated to 23 organisations across Tasmania, focussing on improving the capacity of organisations to provide services, leisure activities and/or inclusion opportunities within their community. One of the largest grants went to Rural Alive and Well, to deliver a support service for young rural Tasmanians aged 13–18 who may be at higher risk of committing suicide. Deloraine House community project officer Tanya King said the Mole Creek Community Garden is a vibrant space created by the five families who work in it.