Sunday’s storm event has destroyed the urban farm and volunteers are absolutely gutted.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Plants have been snapped to pieces and flattened by the masses of hail, wind and rain which lashed Merimbula on December 16.
From Little Things Parklands president David Barrie said all produce besides root vegetables was destroyed.
“Spinach, kale, and all of the herbs have been flattened.
“All of the tomatoes were nailed as well as the new pumpkins, cucumbers and zucchinis – pretty much everything is gone,” he said.
There’s a lot of work to be done, we still need heavy lifters...
- David Barrie
Thirty garden beds were affected by the storm, Ms Barrie said “a few thousand dollars of produce was lost.”
Volunteers remain hopeful to see the garden thrive once again, with help from the community, Mr Barrie said anything is possible.
“We have had one thousand dollars donated straight away by Club Sapphire, Plants Plus in Tura Beach have also organised a heap of seedlings to arrive soon,” he said.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. We still need heavy lifters, able bodied people who can help us move materials and demolish the verge,” he said.
“If we get a few extra hands just for an hour, we can get so much work done,” Mr Barrie said.
The garden beds are now being groomed back to square one, which has set back the completion date of the farmers market project. The markets were originally proposed to take place at Mormors courtyard, Mr Barrie said they are to be situated at the neighboring green at Club Sapphire.
“We do apologise to everyone over the venue of the markets, we planned to hold them at Mormors courtyard but realised it was too small for what we were trying to achieve,” he said.
“We couldn’t run workshops and events and there was no storage space.”
A prototype of the market stalls will be on display in January, Mr Barrie hopes local builders will jump on board to help build a stall and showcase their work to the community.
“We need a lot of materials for the stalls, we are hoping to find someone out there willing to donate corrugated iron, cladding or weather boards, any sort of framing or old fancy doors,” he said.
The garden is calling out to the community for help, Mr Barrie is reaching out to anyone with a small excavator to offer a helping hand and people with a strong physical ability to help with heavy lifting.
Drop in to a working bee at Club Sapphire on any Sunday or email info@flt.org.au, to stay up to date with all that is happening from the FLT team follow their Facebook Page.
READ MORE: