MercyCare Aboriginal Support Worker Florence ‘Flo’ Bin Omar is the brainchild behind the project, which was granted funding through MercyCare’s CEO Innovation Grant.
“The idea to have the garden at Broome was to educate families on native bush tucker around the area and encourage and promote healthy eating to our families that use this service,” Flo said.
Following months of planning, the local community banded together to help bring Flo’s vision for the garden to life.
The bush tucker garden is now thriving, which Flo said was part in thanks to the generosity of local businesses and organisations.
“Since the start of the project, we have had many different services assist us and now the garden is thriving,” she said.
“We’re very thankful for the help from Nirrumbuk Aboriginal Corporation, who came onboard and helped with the initial set up and the design, such as pathways, fencing and garden beds.
“We were also lucky to have support from Monsoonal Landscapes, who assisted with the installation of the reticulation.”
Thanks to the efforts of Centacare Kimberley‘s Aboriginal Support Workers, who provided support during the design and build of the project, and Nyamba Buru Yawuru, who helped select the bush tucker varieties, the garden is now thriving with an array of local bush herbs, fruits and vegetables comprising a mix of native and non-native varieties including lemon grass, bush mint Broome chilli, conkerberry, paw paw, passion fruit, galangalm magabala, gubinge, gilae and macadamia nuts, which is available for guests staying on site to use during their stay.
Nirrumbuk Aboriginal Corporation CEO Joe Grande said community projects like this highlighted the need for more strong partnerships between organisations Nirrumbuk and MercyCare.
“It is important for like-minded organisations to collaborate,” he said.
“This is a great example of what is achievable through this strong partnership. Our trainees involved in the project gain practical skills and MercyCare (BASSA) improve their facility and provide a further activity for guests.”
