Sharing knowledge among growers and gardeners is the motivation behind the newly formed MidCoast Growers Network.
As the MidCoast Council region is vast and diverse with many different microclimates and weather patterns, it can be difficult for people to find the right resources to help them be productive on their own patch of land.
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It was this issue that caught the attention of a group of likeminded people and drove them to start a network to help people connect with others in their region.
According to committee member Ron Woods, the network is about helping people learn to grow for the long term.
"People may start a garden and after three years the animals have eaten everything and they give up," Ron said. "The hope is this will inspire people to be growing 10 years from now and into the future."
The group recognised that the extreme weather events of late, like severe drought and major flooding, may have put people off their path to growing or producing on their properties.
So they wanted to help pool resources together of the different things people have tried or tested in the region as a way of connecting people and providing a learning environment.
"Last year we started to look at ways to communicate with gardeners with difficult gardens or who had dealt with extreme weather events," Ron explained.
"There are various groups across the region and this is a meeting point for all the different interest groups - a hub for information and resources. It's providing a space for all of these groups to come together."
The membership aspiration is to attract everyone who interested in growing - from individuals to garden clubs; from commercial growers to educationalists.
On Friday September 3, MidCoast Growers Network launched a website complete with unique local information about growing in the Mid Coast region, an information hub of local growers and an events page.
With the current COVID situation, the events section is a bit bare but the group plans to increase its activities as well as advertise other events in the region when restrictions allow.
There is also a blog section to the website for members to post their own stories and adventures when in the garden.
For Ron, who's role is to coordinate the website, the most important section is called 'growing', as it's a place where information can be gathered that is region specific.
Although the information on the page is a little scarce at the moment, Ron describes it as a 'means to an end'.
"The end to the story is building a resilient growing community," he said.
The end to the story is building a resilient growing community.
- Ron Woods
But in order to get there, they need to attract more people to get involved and share their knowledge and experiences. For more information about the MidCoast Growers Network or to become a member visit midcoastgrowersnetwork.net.au. MidCoast Growers Network is hosted by Karuah and Great Lakes Landcare.