A seed of an idea at Lismore Library is turning into a youth pizza garden at the end of the building, near the carpark area. 

The vegetable garden project was one of the successful ideas to win seed funding from the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) youth wellbeing grants scheme.

Lucy King, from the Richmond Tweed Regional Library said the library is “more than books”. 

“We also have a seed library where people can come in and get some seeds, then when they grow them, they can bring back more seeds for the collection later,” Lucy said.

“We’d like to see the pizza garden promote the seed library too.”

Michael Lewis, the library’s project coordinator said the project would develop skills in independence, active living and social gardening.

”On weekends, the kids can come in and volunteer to start the creation of the vegetable garden beds,” he said.

“The idea is that they will eventually be able to harvest the food and turn it into pizzas.

“We already have a local café owner who wants to help them make the pizzas.”

Dante and Bella live in Lismore and are keen to get involved in the project.

“I’m looking forward to eating the food, learn about gardening and creating a social space where we have a place to sit that’s private,” Bella said.

Other local projects receiving a grant are CASPA Education’s community garden project and Rekindling the Spirit with the Lismore Youth Koori Knockout.

Mitch King from Rekindling the Spirit, with Anthony Franklin from the NSW Health Department.

Rekindling The Spirit 

Mitch King, from Rekindling The Spirit said the Lismore Youth Koori Knockout project is about getting kids together to learn about traditional Aboriginal games, sports and movement.

“It will get them away from their screens and show them how much fun it can be to be physically active,” he said.

“The program will run one afternoon a week for 10 weeks.

“We will have a focus on how to incorporate activity into your day-to-day life such as walking or riding your bike to the shops instead of driving or getting the bus. 

“There will also be a session focusing on nutrition and healthy eating and it’s a good way for us to tackle mental health and wellbeing. 

“There are high rates of chronic disease in Aboriginal communities which I’ve experienced in my own family.

“If we can get the community involved at a grass roots level, the families of the kids can see it too and they will benefit from the healthier lifestyle too.

“At the moment there is a gap in the State health programs targeted at people 13-18 years old.

“This program will help with keeping kids socially connected and build their confidence and self determination."

CASPA’s Jess Grace and Kane Abbott.

CASPA

CASPA Education’s Community Garden project also received a $4000 grant to get students attending their education centre to develop a garden.

CASPA’s Jess Grace and Kane Abbott said the CASPA education centre supported distance education for kids with complex needs.

“The young people are often in need of therapy and trauma support and they are not engaged in mainstream education,” Jess said.

“The project promotes both physical and mental health for the young people and staff members directly involved.

“We’ve already started three garden beds on site, with the young people helping to build them - this grant will help us to expand.

“The idea is that they will be able to cook with the produce and sell some on at local markets. 

“It will be a great learning experience and increase physical activity as well as daily contact with nature.”

Growing projects

NNSWLHD health promotion manager, Jillian Adams said the grants of up to $4000 each are funded as part of its Healthy Communities Northern Rivers initiative, a whole of community approach to making it easier for people to lead active healthy lives. 

“One of the key criteria for the grants was that young people were involved in the planning of the project and that the projects will hopefully grow," she said.

“It’s important that these projects to get young people active and eating healthy food, come from a youth perspective, because young people know best what will work for them.

“We invited Dr Kate Neale from the Centre for Children and Young People at Southern Cross University to be on the grant assessment panel, because of her expertise in youth engagement.” 

Other criteria for the grants included value for money, sustainability, innovation, planning and evaluation, and addressing social disadvantage. 

The projects focus on healthy eating or physical activity, or both, and are for young people aged 13 to 24 years. 

The grant winners are from across the Northern Rivers and include projects to address girls’ physical activity, Indigenous youth health, young people with disability, and social disadvantage.