Enter The Food Forest

On the banks of the Pioneer River, hidden behind a thicket of trees and shrubs, is an oasis of community, nature and connectedness.

The Mackay Community Garden has sat next to the river, down past the hospital, for 25 years, with Zephyr Routh recently taking on the responsibility of bringing it to its former glory and showcasing the processes of permaculture used in the garden.

“It’s become more of a demonstration garden and a place for the community to connect and share the love of gardening,” Zephyr said.

“I’m trying to bring community and trying to bring life back into the space and create a nice atmosphere for people to come and work in harmony with nature and work in harmony with each other.”

Zephyr explained that permaculture is all about biodiversity.

“It’s about working with the rhythms of nature and really focusing on perennial plants and biodiversity and stability,” he said.

“We focus on a lot of tropical foods because we’re growing into the climate.”

“It’s very structured and very planned,” Bradley Grendom added, explaining that trees and plants are positioned to optimise each plant’s exposure to the sun as it crosses the sky.

Being a pensioner, Bradley was seeking somewhere to connect with likeminded people when he found the garden.

“There’s a lot of spiritual people around this permaculture process that we’re in and that’s what I like,” he said.

“I’m just here to get a bit of the day changed and work around trees and plants, getting the hands and the feet in the soil.

“It’s a healing process.”

The Community Garden hosts a range of events for anyone to attend, including Abundance Days, potting days and workshops.

“We come in as a collective group and we go around and ask the community what jobs they want to do, whether that be playing in the nursery, planting some herbs, picking some fruit, or even art,” Zephyr said.

“It’s always open and there’s always something different going on.”

The group of volunteers is hosting its first Food Forest Fest this Sunday to showcase their hard work and to bring new people into the space.

“I just thought, ‘How can we bring more life into this place?” Zephyr said.

“A lot of people in Mackay don’t know about this area, it’s still a little hidden gem.”

Food Forest Fest is a celebration of the life of spring, centred around the region's diversity, permaculture, music, healing, food, and local handcrafted and homegrown goods.

Activities will include permaculture workshops, tropical cooking demonstrations, sound healing, live music, garden tours, kids’ activities, locally grown and handcrafted market stalls and tree planting.

“It’s really based around trying to get people down here and show people a different way to live in community,” Zephyr said.

For more information on Mackay Community Garden and Food Forest Fest, visit the Mackay Community Garden on Facebook or contact Zephyr on 0497 150 777.

WHAT: Food Forest Fest

WHERE: Mackay Community Garden

WHEN: Sunday, October 23 from 10:00am to 3:00pm

This is a free community event.

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