With the arrival of Spring, it’s time to Make Hume Grow!

Spring has sprung and the season of renewal is upon us in Hume City, with Hume City Council offering a range of programs for all ages to connect with nature. 

As we embark on this time of regeneration, Hume City Council acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung as the Traditional Owners of the land that our local community lives on, and First Nations peoples’ deep and spiritual Connection to Country.  

For green thumbs who garden and grow their own food, there’s a connection to place and to nature. Similarly, the establishment of bush tucker or Indigenous Cultural gardens is a powerful act of Reconciliation, and popular among locals. 

For NAIDOC Week in early July, bush tucker planting took place at the Craigieburn Community Garden with support from Council’s program of planting events.  

This involved adding over 300 indigenous, or ‘locally-evolved’ seedlings used by Aboriginal people for food, medicine, fibre, or tool making to a native garden bed. A similar bush tucker planting event occurred in the food garden at Sunbury Neighbourhood House. 

To stay informed about these environmental and sustainability programs and events, including bush tucker walks and talks, subscribe to Council’s Live Green newsletter. 

Council’s Seedlings for Schools program has seen significant interest from schools in establishing bush tucker gardens on their grounds, with several local schools chosen to get planting again in 2025. 

Around 4,000 seedlings are donated each year across a range of themed species boxes for wildlife habitat and cultural values, with 85 per cent of schools in Hume City involved and 54,000 seedlings planted by students since the program began in 2013. 

Residents and businesses in Hume City can also apply to have a free 1-hour garden visit with volunteer Garden Guides through Gardens for Wildlife where they’ll receive advice about bush tucker gardens.  

Participants learn how to attract and support native animals using a variety of plants and are invited to an exclusive seedling giveaway event each winter. Bush tucker gardens are also wildlife habitat gardens.   

For people with a strong interest in productive food gardens, Let’s Grow Hume workshops are on again.  

Visit the Let’s Grow Hume webpage to secure your spot in a workshop with our gardening experts and receive resources to increase your capacity to grow veggies and herbs at home. 

And for further inspiration on what people can grow at home, visit the bush tucker gardens at the Westmeadows Indigenous Community Garden, and at Banksia Gardens Community Services in Broadmeadows.