Kleenheat Community Grants support local groups going green in communities across regional Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Our $1,000 grants are designed to give local go-getters a little helping hand in continuing to make a positive difference in our communities.

During round one of the grants program, a quarter of the grants awarded went to Wheatbelt-based community groups for the work they are doing in their community.

Our Healthy Planet category is all about getting behind groups, such as the Gooda Judder Aboriginal Corporation and Brookton Community Inc. who are committed to protecting our environment through community garden projects.

Investing in long-term, water-wise community gardens is not only inclusive and a great activity to encourage community participation, but it’s also a particularly worthy cause across regional WA, given our typically dry and hot climate.

Creating healthy spaces with native, water-wise community gardens

The Gooda Judder Aboriginal Corporation and Brookton Community Inc. strive to keep their community gardens vibrant, diverse and water-wise.

Both groups work with schools, botanical groups, and other community groups including Men’s Sheds, as well as local Indigenous families and elders for their knowledge on native plants and produce that grows easily in the area.

Gooda Judder Aboriginal Corporation

Robyn Garrett is part of the York Community Resource Centre (CRC), 100km east of Perth. The York CRC provides technical and administrative support, training, events, and activities for the broader community.

Most recently, the CRC assisted the Gooda Judder Aboriginal Corporation (Gooda Judder), in its application for a Kleenheat Community Grant, for their native produce garden initiative.

Sharon MacDonald is the chairperson of Gooda Judder, and whilst she originates from Meekatharra, or Yamatji country, she and her family are now based in York and Beverley.

Following the passing of Sharon’s mother, Gooda Judder, meaning ‘brother, sister’, was formed to honour the value she placed on education, and health and wellbeing.

Gooda Judder is based in York and assists with, and coordinates events that engage with the local Aboriginal families, so that cultural knowledge can be shared within the community in and around York and Beverley.

The Corporation is currently planning a tree planting and native produce garden program at the Beverley District High School. The $1,000 Kleenheat Community Grant they received will assist in the purchase of the seeds and seedlings required in the program.

“Bush tucker has been used for many years for both health and medicinal properties. The aim is to showcase their qualities and how people can incorporate them in their everyday lives by promoting that they plant their own edible gardens.”

Learn more about the Gooda Judder Aboriginal Corporation through the York Community Resource Centre by following along on their Facebook page @YorkCRC, or by visiting their website www.yorkcrc.net.au.

Brookton Community Inc.

Brookton is located 135km south-east of Perth and home to approximately 1,000 locals, spread across the townsite and into the surrounding farming community.

Joy Reiter and Tamara Lilly volunteer with the Brookton Community Inc. and want the Brookton Community Garden to be a place for the community to gather and grow.

The aim of the Community Gardens is to bring together the skills and knowledge of the local community so that shared spaces in Brookton become a place of community involvement, engagement and enjoyment.

In 2021, The Brookton Community Inc. received a $1,000 grant to help cover the expenses of a water tank and plumbing, so that the garden has its own source of water to use.

Being in a regional community with access to limited rainfall, water is precious. The Brookton Community Inc. are endeavouring to make the garden as water-wise as possible. The rainwater tank will fill from roof run-off and will ensure the gardens have sufficient water and it will reduce the cost of running the garden.

“The Brookton Community Garden is a place for community to grow and gather in Brookton. This Kleenheat grant has helped us take one more step.”

To follow along with the Brookton Community Inc, find them on Facebook at @brooktoncommunityinc.