The Anglican Parish of All Souls is about to turn an overgrown patch into a beautiful, habitat-friendly garden for the community to enjoy. Here’s how they got a grant.
The Anglican Parish of All Souls is a long-standing part of the St Peters community in the east of metro Adelaide. Their small congregation works together to maintain their beautiful church grounds and it is about to get wilder with a Grassroots Grant.
Why was this grant project important?
One area on the grounds was getting overgrown and unmanageable. So, last year the Parish’s Co-Operations Manager David Seaton suggested that they clear the overgrown garden space and replace it with a low-maintenance, habitat-friendly new garden.
Once they made a start it was easy to recognise the possibilities. A revitalised space would not only contribute to biodiversity in the area but would also be more inviting to everyone who passed by, enjoyable for weddings in the church, and a suitable place for contemplation and reflection.
They also envisioned a raised garden that would be open to anyone to be involved in nurturing it. The area will have a combination of grass and bushes that are bird and bee friendly – as well as a line of native trees along the area commemorating parishioners that have passed.
How did the Grassroots Grant help?
The Parish was working with the community to fundraise, when Co-Operations Manager Emma Robinson heard about Grassroots Grants on the radio and decided to give it a go.
She worked with David on the planning and application. The Grassroots Grant will help them get the right services – bringing the right expertise on native plants – to do the job.
‘Our project aims to provide a beautiful, open space for the community to enjoy,’ Emma said.
‘We are very excited to finally be moving forward with creating a beautiful space for us all to enjoy and share with our community.’
Words of advice for future grant applicants
Anglican Parish of All Souls found that if you’re thinking of applying for a Grassroots Grant, go for it – and it’s good to always be thinking about how to involve your neighbourhood in your idea.
Green Adelaide Grassroots Grants open from March to May each year.