Natural Community Gardening in Woy Woy was a project that built on exisiting assests within the community in relation to knowledge sharing, understanding of the environment and ecology through hands-on learning, and linking youth with their community through the development of natural community gardens on public school sites.

Community workshops, supported by the Peninsula Environment Group, were held at the Woy Woy Environment Centre, and at two public school sites, with practical activities and hands-on learning as the focus. Teachers, parents, grandparents, and local residents were invited to attend to share knowledge and work with the students on in important natural resource management outcomes, consistent with the Catchment Action Plan of the Hunter-Central Rivers CMA.

The project was also aimed at assisting the community in moving towards sustainability through the development of new understandings about the environment and our place in it.

The enthusiasm of the students participating in this project was truly inspiring! We had many more students than anticipated become involved in this project, therefore learning new skills and engaging with members of their community in a way that they have not had the opportunity to before. This project has built pride and lifted the morale of two entire school communities.

Natural Community Gardening in Woy Woy was a foundation for the future development and use of these two spaces through the building of relationships and continued commitment of the schools and local community.

Building local resilience through growing food and strengthening relationships in the local community is becoming a priority for citizens concerned about the health of our society and environment. This type of project encourages positive steps forward and most importantly, teaches our children skills for life and for the future care of our planet.

This project was supported by Gosford City Council through their 2008/09 Community Development Grants.

Try to replicate how a natural system would function by slowing the flow of runoff. Dig small trenches around gardens and incoporate ponds with wetland plants to act as water sinks that trap excess nutrients and increase soil moisture and fertility.

Never leave the soil bare. This is a fundamental rule of natural gardening - it is vital for the development of equilibrium.

Use small ponds and hollows (within logs, and piles of rocks and branches, etc.) in every garden bed/throughout a food forest to create habitat. This will lead to an increased level of diversity, and the development of equilibrium.

• Creating habitat within the garden is vital for attracting the diversity of birds, animals and insects needed to create the predator-prey relationship balance required to develop equilibrium within the garden. It is also the activities of these organisms that help develop the fertility of the system.

• The key component to habitat creation is providing a watering hole within the garden. Frog ponds and birdbaths are ideal but you can also place small ponds in every garden bed you create. Something as simple as an ice-cream container buried in the ground with a layer of pebbles and filled with water can achieve this even in small garden beds.

• Another important component is to place things like hollow logs, branches, rocks, etc. in a pile, to create hollows in which small animals and insects can live.

Select the appropriate plants for the microclimate of the site.

• If we are to develop a garden or farm that requires no adding of water or nutrients, then assessing the microclimate is vital.

• Although the climate of a region may be categorised as temperate or tropical there will be many microclimates within that region that will influence the plant communities that naturally grow there.

• The following factors influence a microclimate and, therefore, the plant types that need to be selected for a particular site:

Aspect

The direction in which a slope faces can dramatically influence the amount of moisture retained within the soil.

Slope

The degree of slope and the position on the slope will influence moisture content.

Wind Exposure

Wind has a drying effect on soil, increasing evaporation and transpiration.

Proximity to large water bodies

The salt spray from oceans, and high humidity from evaporation from large water bodies and associated wetland areas, will affect plant selection on specific sites.

Soil

The condition of the soil directly corresponds to the microclimate and geographical conditions of a site, which need to be looked at closely when determining plant suitability. Soil fertility is determined by available moisture and organic content, not the ratio of sand, silt and clay particles.

Another factor to take into account is the rate of deposition compared with the rate of erosion on a particular site. Soil accumulates lower down the slope creating rich, deep, moist soils, while on the ridges and high slopes, erosion is greater than deposition so soils become shallow, sandy, rocky, and dry.

Observe the succession process in natural systems and how water is the limiting factor to what types of plant communities will grow on a particular site.

• Succession is the process of change within a natural plant community whereby layering and diversity increases over time.

• Water is the limiting factor to the succession process. So, when water availability is at a minimum, the plant community will not develop past the first succession.

• Plants within the heath/tundra community are adapted to full sun, low soil fertility and low water availability.

• At the other end of the succession process is rainforest where water availability is at its maximum. All plants within a rainforest community are adapted to shade, high soil fertility and high available moisture.

• Sun intensity is another growth factor needed by plants. Rainforests, with the highest level of diversity and layering, will develop in tropical areas where sun intensity is at a maximum but rainfall still exceeds evaporation rates.

• If moisture levels are below minimal water availability then a desert will result. A sandy desert is due to excessive evaporation and an ice desert is due to excessive freezing. If moisture levels are above maximum availability then a wetland system or swampy meadow will result.

• Whenever a natural system is disturbed, the succession process needs to recur.

• Any attempt to replant rainforest species in a disturbed area will prove to be unsuccessful. You would need to go back in the succession process and select plants that are appropriate for the current conditions. As the newly established plant community develops in both diversity and layering, it will facilitate the increase in soil moisture and fertility that will eventually enable the rainforest community to reestablish itself.

Include different forms of plants at varying heights to maintain moisture and provide habitat diversity.

• Layering of plants is a key component of a natural system.

• A rainforest, for example, which is the final succession of a plant community, has the highest level of diversity and disorder, with up to five layers.

• The humidity released by plants through transpiration becomes trapped within the layers of a forest ecosystem. Shading further maintains soil moisture levels by reducing the evaporative effect of the sun.

• Layering is important for maintaining moisture within the system, and also for habitat diversity. Having different forms of plants at different heights above the ground, e.g. trees, shrubs, herbs and ground covers, provide the diversity of habitats needed to attract a diversity of insects, birds and animals.

• Layering above the ground repeats itself under the ground with root layering, allowing a denser plant community to grow without plants competing for the same space and resources within the soil below.

Plant a diversity of plants to attract a diversity of insects, birds, animals, and microbes.

• The greater the variety of organisms, the better it is for the environment.

• The organisms that survive are not the strongest individuals but the ones that have the greatest number of relationships with other organisms.

• The higher the species diversity, the greater the number of relationships that can be facilitated within the system. The greater the number of relationships, the more stable the system becomes.

•  A key association within nature is the predator-prey relationship  and there are benefits for both sides.

•  Diversity within the garden can dramatically decrease population fluctuations of predators and prey.

•  The higher the diversity the more stable the system becomes.

•  Since plants are the beginning of the food chain and provide habitat, then the starting point is planting a diversity of plants to attract the diversity of insects, birds, animals and microbes.