Kariong Eco Garden (then called Kariong Community Earthcare Garden) was approved by Gosford Council at their meeting on 28 June 2005. It was a project of the Central Coast Community Environment Network (CCCEN – now CEN). Grants were sought and sponsors were found for every fence post. The garden beds, fruit trees, first shelters, sculptures and the mosaic snake path were created over the next two years and Kariong Eco Garden officially opened on 28 July 2007 as part of a FOOTPRINT FESTIVAL on the site.
To mark the 20 year milestone you are invited to help celebrate at a morning tea and eco-art exhibition on Monday 30 June 2025, 10.30am – 12noon.
Please book in for catering purposes.
Let us know if you would like to bring some food to share on the day.
$20 supporter membership is optional and helps us continue our work for the next 20 years. Other donations always welcome!
Saturday 12 April 2025, 10.30am – 12.30pm at Kariong Eco Garden
Bilbies are a very endangered species and we believe the more we know, the more we care and then maybe more will be done to preserve our wilderness for all our native creatures. We look forward to meeting and exploring the life and love of bilbies with you.
This workshop is for ALL AGES – Adults, young people and children.
Children must be accompanied by an adult.
We will be talking about bilbies, their habitat and what they like to eat.
What to bring:
hat
water
fruit or other snack
hard copy images of bilbies if you can find some eg in books,
any toy bilbies you have
and drawing materials if you would like.
Rachel will also provide drawing materials and bilby images.
We will be meeting at 10.30am at the Eco Garden for a welcome and a brief nature walk.
Then, in the hall, we will learn about bilbies, and their habitat before you make your own picture.
Saturday 26 April, 10.30am – 12.30pm at Kariong Eco Garden.
Kids Can Save Lives is a simple yet practical course, designed and delivered to reinforce and instill confidence, by Central Coast First Aid.
Learn life saving skills whilst having fun!
Join us for a practical fun-filled session, hands on practice and role plays!
This course is aimed for primary school-aged children. $30/child (5-12 years) or $50 for 2 children. A parent/guardian must remain on site (no charge for adult).
The program is specifically designed to help children learn age-appropriate first aid knowledge to help them know how to respond to an emergency.
Mini ECO Shop in ECO-ARTS BARN, 2 DANDALOO ST, KARIONG Wednesday 20 December & Thursday 21 December, 12.30pm – 4.15pm
Looking for some Christmas gifts that are locally made?
Spiral Compost Tool – Stainless Steel $49 at Kimbriki – our Price $45 (just 3 left!) The Rolls Royce of Compost mixing tools! Hand made in Sydney. Aeration/mixing is the KEY to successful composting.
Boomerang Bags $5- $10 – lots to choose from, all unique – great way to wrap a gift!
EARTHCARE games $60-$74 ($5 from every game sold goes to Kariong Eco Garden) https://www.earthcaregame.org/ Mindfully made on the Central Coast. Ages 6-106.
Summer Solstice/ End of Year Christmas Gathering in the Eco Garden Thursday 21 December 6pm. Bring a plate of food to share.
WHAT’S ON JANUARY 2024
Monday 8 January 2024 10.00am to 1 pm Volunteers return to: Planting, watering, weeding & having cuppas! Come and join us 🙂
And for the children this school holiday… Monday 15 January 2024 10.30am to Noon Make Recycled Paper Any age and for the whole family Children must be accompanied by a grown up Gold coin donation
Monday 22 January 2024 10.30am to Noon Screen Print your OWN T-shirt with our logo Any age and for the whole family Children must be accompanied by a grown up Gold coin donation
Monday 29 January 2024 10.00am to 1 pm Volunteers – all ages – we have kids tools too: Planting, watering, weeding & having cuppas! Come and join us 🙂
Explore the events and activities of Harvest Festival while you plan your adventure into the hinterland, this comprehensive map will help you plan your day before you set out on your way. Remember reception in the Hinterland can be as patchy as a Country Women’s Association quilt so make sure to take notes and download the program before you join the Harvest Festival Trail.
HAPPY WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY – MONDAY 5 JUNE 2023
What’s happening in the Eco Garden? Scroll to the bottom for upcoming events!
Some of the biggest changes in a long time with the arrival and preparation on our new raised garden beds. We have set up new one new wicking bed (“the garden bed bed”), two new no dig garden beds (60cm high) and four new hugelkultur beds.
If you missed the May Garden Bed workshop you can still come and learn how to make a hugulkultur bed on Mondays 19th and 26th when we set up the last two.
Big thanks to Eco Garden friend Robyn for delivering the new beds from Coast & Country Water Tanks and to all our supporters, bottles and can donors and garden hirers whose donations helped us save the funds to buy them. Thank you!
WEDNESDAY 28 JUNE IS 18 YEARS SINCE OUR COMMUNITY GARDEN WAS APPROVED BY A MOTION OF GOSFORD CITY COUNCIL IN 2005.
OUR MAY GARDEN BED CONSTRUCTION WORKSHOP
John from Woy Woy Garden Teaching us the German style of Hugelkultur gardeningRosie teaching us how to make a wicking bed with upcycled IBC containerLisa and helpers making an Esther Dean style No Dig garden
QUICK PICKLING WORKSHOP WITH VIVIAN
Vivian teaching us Quick Pickling
If you missed the Quick Pickling workshop in May, Vivian will be back to teach us on Saturday 9 September. Save the date in your diary now.
Other Dates for your diary
July SCHOOL HOLIDAY craft workshops with Lisa McArthur-Edwards
Stall at Central Coast Kids Day Out – Sunday 7 May at Narara Valley High School
Pop in and lend a hand or say hello as we show the kids wonderful worms or help them make a yarn butterfly or yarn turtle. Buy a Kariong Eco Garden t-shirt or Boomerang Bag or fruit & vege bags. 10am – 3pm. Adults $12 Kids $7 (under 1 year old free) Family $35. All day entertainment. Free rides and shows after entry. Find out more at https://www.cckdo.org/.
Garden Bed Workshop/ Working Bee – Saturday 13 May, 9am – 1pm at KEG – Learn about Hugelkultur, Wicking and Esther Dean Style No-dig garden beds. $5 donation.
Hugelkultur Garden bed benefits include: no/low cost, all-natural materials, carbon storing good water retention. John R (Woy Woy Community Garden volunteer) will teach us how these gardens work and we will set up the first of four in our garden.
Woy Woy Community Garden Hugelkultur Garden under construction
Wicking beds have an inbuilt reservoir of water which waters veggies from the bottom up – the way they like it!! They are an easy working height using a lot less water and minimal work to maintain once set up.
Rosie (Founder of Laguna Earth House) will be our teacher on the day and has been growing food organically for 50 years. She now has a local productive veggie garden with raised and wicking beds.
She will demonstrate the simplicity of set up in this hands-on workshop.
This is what our new wicking beds will be made of – two halves of a 1000L plastic tank.This is what Rosie’s wicking beds look like.
Saturday 4/3/23 – Julie is going to clean up the Kangoo Road Car Park again. Let me know if you are available to help. BYO gloves, hat, drinking water. Time: 9.30am.
Monday 6/3/23 – Kariong Skate Park and surrounding public land could use some love. 9-10am – before our regular garden volunteer time. BYO gloves, hat, drinking water. Meet at the corner of Mitchell Drive and Langford Drive, Kariong.
OUR MARCH WORKSHOP – Propagation
Saturday 11/3 Propagation workshop with Graeme Ingall – 10am – 11.30am $5/person (free for active members/volunteers), followed by working bee – bookings encouraged – message Lisa on 0429 431 889 or email: kariongecogarden@gmail.com.
Graeme has a wealth of knowledge about propagation and is an active member of the Australia Plant Society – Central Coast District Group (CCDG) where he has been able to indulge in his passion of propagating native plants, sometimes successfully and sometimes with failure – it is called a learning curve.
Currently, Graeme conducts, with others, the propagation of native plants for sale by the CCDG. Also, he is involved in teaching propagation at the Pearl Beach Arboretum.
For those who are interested, Graeme graduated with a Diploma of Agriculture from Wagga Agricultural College (now Charles Stuart University, Wagga Wagga Campus) and TAFE Ourimbah Campus where he gained Certificate II in Bush Regeneration.
Graeme recommends using an old ironing board for potting up, as you can adjust the height to suit. We will have tables to use at the workshop but feel free to BYO an ironing board! We will have posts and soil and Graeme will show how to take cuttings from plants in the eco garden as well as bring other specimens. BYO chop sticks if you have some you don’t mind getting dirty.
For more information or bookings please send your name and number of people to Lisa on 0429 431 889 or email kariongecogarden@gmail.com.
ECO ART WORKSHOPS COMING UP
Saturday 1/4 ECO ART – Bilby workshop with Rachel Bunney 10.30-12noon (bookings essential $15/young person or $10/young person for 2 or more and accompanying adult free – yet to be advertised – will be on website and facebook) and volunteers working bee concurrently.
Monday 17/4 (in school holidays) ECO ART – Orangutan workshop with Rachel Bunney 10.30-12noon (bookings essential $15/young person or 2 for $20 and accompanying adult free – yet to be advertised – will be on website and facebook) and volunteers working bee concurrently.
Monday 3/7 (in school holidays) ECO ART – Platypus workshop with Rachel Bunney 10.30-12noon (bookings essential $15/young person or 2 for $20 – accompanying adult free – yet to be advertised – will be on website and facebook) and volunteers working bee concurrently.
COMING UP
Aboriginal Cultural Workshop with Tim Selwyn, Girri Girra – or he may come to one of the ECO ART workshops TBC
Quick Pickling workshop with Vivian 2nd Saturday in May TBC
No workshop or working bee on 2nd Saturday in June due to long weekend.
First Aid in the Garden workshop 2nd Saturday in July TBC
The ever popular Bird workshop with Kaye Pointer – August TBC
For more information please call Lisa 0429 431 889 on Mondays or between 4pm and 8pm on other days.
