Edible Garden Trail host registrations open

The Illawarra Edible Garden Trail will return bigger and better in its fourth year, spanning two weekends in spring. Gardens will be open for this year's trail from Helensburgh all the way to Gerroa.

Continuing last year’s theme of Food for All, the trail celebrates the power of backyard growing to support food security, foster biodiversity and build strong community connections.

"The theme Food for All is an important point of difference for us,” Emily Fowler, the trail's coordinator, says.

“It recognises that edible gardens are not only about feeding people, but also about creating habitat, supporting pollinators and strengthening food security for the whole community.”

The event will cover Helensburgh to West Wollongong on October 31-November 1 and a southerly leg between Cringila and Gerroa on November 7-8.

Trail-goers will have the chance to explore a variety of gardens, from backyard vegie patches and native habitats to school and community areas. 

Host registrations are open until September 1, and gardeners of all interests and skill levels are invited to open their gates and share tips on everything from soil health to sustainable harvesting.

Among this year’s hosts is Penny Claiborne, who began cultivating her home garden in Corrimal after moving into the Illawarra in 2021.

"When I moved into the place, it was very much a clean slate," Penny says. 

"There was actually just grass. There were maybe one or two trees, but nothing else. So it's been a huge learning curve.”

"We're lucky because Corrimal's on the flat. But the block sits alongside a sort of creek or storm drain, which has presented some challenges.”

Over the years, Penny has learned to manage the unique layout of her gardens, planting a native rainforest strip on one side of the creek, and raised beds closer to the house to grow seasonal food alongside perennial herbs, bush tucker and fruit trees including plum, lemon, lime and tangerine.

“It was just a nature strip, so it's sort of been from scratch. There are native plants that are endemic to the Illawarra, but we also planted edibles like bananas and mango and ginger and that kind of stuff,” Penny says.

"Because of that storm drain, we have some unique challenges with flooding in our garden, so that's why I use raised beds, and also our soil is quite heavy clay, just so I can control the soil."

Penny attended the Edible Garden Trail soon after moving to the Illawarra, aiming to connect as a beginner gardener new to the area.

"I went to the very first edible garden trail. I found out about it, went by myself, and got completely inspired,” she says.

"I think the garden trail was a wonderful way, too, if you're new to the Illawarra, to meet people ... people you wouldn't normally meet, like different age groups and generations." 

Penny returned as a host the following year, opening her gates for visitors, despite her nerves.

"It was a very new garden and I was very green, very nervous and I had so much imposter syndrome... I think that’s something that lots of hosts feel; like they're not going to be enough and their garden's not cool enough or good enough." 

Penny quickly found that trail-goers are keen to see gardens at every stage of development. Everyone from herb-growing renters to community garden coordinators are valued additions to the trail.

"Gardeners are the nicest people, and everyone that comes is so grateful just to see, to have a stickybeak... They're always so inspired even though what you think you do is not that big a deal... It's really like an art trail – everyone sort of approaches things differently." 

Penny highly encourages anyone sitting on the fence to sign up and experience the event firsthand.

"The coolest thing about hosting is that you just get these people coming in and going, 'Oh that's so cool, that's so great,' and then sharing ideas... And then of course, I think what's really great about being a host is that you become part of this community."

Register as a host by emailing gardentrail@foodfairnessillawarra.org.au or via the host registration form before September 1st. Early bird tickets go on sale September 1 via Humanitix, with general admission opening October 1.