Community gardens becoming increasingly popular

By Rich Harvey, CEO, propertybuyer.com.au

New data shows that a majority of Australian households support locally grown food produced from community gardens, school gardens and gardens in aged care facilities.

The Australia Institute recently reported that two out of three households feel this way, while more than half of Aussie households are growing some of their own food either at home or at a community garden.

Meanwhile, 13 per cent said they want to start doing so, with health, taste and cost-savings given as the biggest reasons.

"Our survey found that food gardening influences behaviours in relation to food waste and locally produced food items," said Poppy Wise, author of the Australia Institute report.

"Nearly half of all food gardening households strongly agreed that growing their own food has encouraged them to waste less food, use most of their food scraps in their garden and be more inclined to buy locally produced food. In addition to minimising transport emissions, local food production builds food system resilience by shortening food supply chains that can be vulnerable to disruptions such as extreme weather events and transport failures."

Meanwhile, the report states that Aussie households could save $657 million a year and two million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions if more people grew their own food and reduced waster.

Between the growing trend toward sustainability, as well as the obvious cost-effectiveness of community gardens, there's a good chance more and more people are looking to move into communities where such programs exist.

If you're looking to buy a house in Australia near a community garden, look no further than Sydney. A brand new community garden has just approved in the city, bringing the count to 18 community gardens in the City of Sydney.

Many of these gardens can be found in the Inner West and Eastern Suburbs, including in Lillyfield and Paddington.

Get in touch with a qualified buyers agent who can inform you about these amenities and many others before settling on your new property.