A garden can grow food. It can also create a reason to step outside, meet a neighbour and become part of a community.
That’s the idea behind Growing Together: Activating Community Through Shared Gardens, a new collaboration between St Kilda Community Housing and Cultivating Community that we’re proud to back through our 2026 Grants for Collaboration.
Over 12 months, residents across four St Kilda Community Housing properties will work alongside the two organisations to design, establish and care for shared community gardens, transforming underused outdoor spaces into places for growing, gathering and connecting.
For St Kilda Community Housing CEO Andrew D’Arcy, that connection is an important part of what makes somewhere feel like home.
“Many of our tenants have spent a long time without a stable home, and a safe space to live is only part of what’s needed. Knowing your neighbours matters too.”
For residents who have experienced homelessness or housing insecurity, having a secure place to live can provide important stability. Growing Together recognises that feeling connected to neighbours and community matters too.
Gardening will provide a shared activity around which those connections can grow. Importantly, residents will shape what happens from the beginning. Each of the four sites will start with a co-design workshop where residents can identify priorities, share ideas, and decide how their communal garden will develop.
“Tenants will help design their own gardens, then look after them together,” Andrew said. “It’s a simple idea, and it works.”
Cultivating Community will then work alongside residents through hands-on workshops covering seasonal planting, food growing, soil preparation, composting and sustainable gardening.
Residents will build practical skills while working together to establish and care for their shared spaces.
Cultivating Community CEO Emma Watts said the gardens are about much more than what gets planted.
“We’re delighted to receive support from Southside Community Foundation for Growing Together, our collaboration with St Kilda Community Housing. This funding will help us work alongside residents to bring communal garden spaces to life through food growing, shared learning and connection. These gardens are about much more than growing food, they can create welcoming places where people build relationships, develop skills and feel a stronger sense of belonging in their community.”
The collaboration brings together different strengths. St Kilda Community Housing brings its established relationships with residents and local knowledge, while Cultivating Community brings its experience in community gardening, food systems and community development.
We’re backing Growing Together with a $10,000 grant through our 2026 Grants for Collaboration.
“We’re really excited to be working with Cultivating Community on this project,” Andrew said. “Thanks to Southside Community Foundation for backing our tenants.”
Growing Together is a great example of what can happen when local organisations combine their strengths and people are actively involved in shaping what happens in their own community.
