Santos reinvents its Mullumbimby garden

Santos Reinvents its Mullumbimby Garden

Pictured: Permaforest Trust students Tiku Peters (left) and Bec Talbot (right) check on the fruits of their labour with Santos’ Lani Summers (centre).

With our focus typically on localisation and community, Santos has now teamed up with the Permaforest Trust to reinvent the garden space behind our Mullumbimby store. What was previously a boring backyard with just grass and a few trees has become a vibrant and exciting place to behold.

Lani Summers from Santos coordinated the team of students from the Permaforest Trust, an accredited permaculture training college in the ‘permablitz’ on the backyard. After outlining a design borne of a brief from Lani Summers, the college students, and Santos staff, cleared, prepared and restructured the area as the beginning of an ongoing project that will have a great many stages.

The new permaculture space was created in an effort to entice community to participate, grow, eat, share and relax – as well as provide yield for sale within Santos itself.

Lani said, ‘Originally we thought of the garden as somewhere where we could grow organic produce for use in the juice bar and store, but, while the original intention is still there, the focus quickly shifted to making the process more about public education and a real community space. ‘It’s been so good to talk to locals as they pop their heads around the gate to check on the progress. We want to have educational plaques with information such as the benefits of certain herbs that are growing, or what part of bushfoods you can eat and such.'

'Santos naturopaths will plant medicinal herbs and our cooks will plant culinary herbs and other edible plants. Local kids can come and plant a seedling and watch it grow. We would love for the community to claim this space as their own. The first stage of the garden project includes newly planted natives, shady herbs, a lush zone, no dig herb beds, raised beds for intensive vegetable production, a worm farm and compost bays. Later stages will see the installation of solar panels, rainwater tanks and community projects. '

For more information on the Permaforest Trust, visit www.permaforesttrust.org.au and pop your head around the garden gates for updates on the Santos project. Set as favorite

Written by Lou Beaumont reproduced courtesy of The Byron Shire Echo