We’ve had a bit of sun here today, between showers, with heavy rain forecast to return on the weekend. At this stage, Brisbane is unlikely to flood again. Last week Gympie, the Lockyer Valley and Warwick – all in south-east Queensland – flooded again. They are on watch for more flooding next week.
We have been able to distribute donated goods far and wide through Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich including seeds from HMAA member Annette McFarlane and products from Earthlife. A bottle of Earthlife or Seasol can go a long way to lift spirits and encourage people back into the garden. The Jimboomba Community Garden sends a huge THANK YOU to Seasol for the 10L drum they received.
Margaret Louise in Lismore and her volunteers are still working on a place to receive the donations we’ve requested from various garden companies. Dry useable space is at a premium there right now with so much of the town destroyed. I’m working with her and also Phil Dudman to organise a “garden party” for Lismore. We are aiming for June 11 and would be able to hand out donations then. We have yet to finalise a venue that is clean, dry, not already storing donations or people, has power and is not too hard to access for people who no longer have cars.
Gympie did not have the dramatic rescues that Lismore did, but is otherwise in a very similar situation.
It’s times like these I am very grateful for life in suburbia where we have normality and access to volunteers and services just over the hill in the next suburb.
I realise that it seems to be taking a long time to get word out that we can take donations. It is not that we do not want or appreciate donations it’s just tricky, especially in areas where so many people are still homeless. The ongoing wet weather too is making it difficult to get homes dry enough to repair them, and in the garden just when it’s safe to get out there we are waterlogged again.
I’m just on my way out now to collect a huge lot gardening tools being donated by someone moving into a unit tl, so there is still plenty happening. I am going to keep doing what I can to support gardeners here for many more months yet.
Kate Wall, Consulting Gardener
0448 460 037, www.katewall.com.au
