Sunshine Coast community gardens are proving fertile ground for more than plants, giving locals places to forge friendships, share skills and find a sense of belonging.
Sunshine Coast Council is supporting that growth, awarding grants to Little Mountain and Mudjimba community gardens for grassroots projects.
Councillor Taylor Bunnag said community gardens helped build resilient and connected communities.
“Every year, council provides grants that support and enable community organisations to deliver one-off projects, activities and events that make a meaningful difference across our region,” he said.
“This year’s round saw a record-breaking number of applications, with $163,064 awarded to 87 worthy not-for-profit organisations that are helping their communities thrive.
“Community gardens are a great example of this. Having recently volunteered at a local community garden myself, I saw first-hand the sense of connection they create, bringing neighbours together and providing welcoming places where people can share skills, ideas and experiences.”
What started as a single idea in Caloundra in 2024 has quickly grown into one of the Sunshine Coast’s newest community success stories.
Little Mountain Community Garden president Jody Hawkins imagined a space where people could connect through gardening, nature and shared purpose.
Today, that vision has blossomed into a vibrant community garden with more than 50 members and hundreds of local supporters following its journey online.
The garden is built around a simple principle that everything grown is shared.
Visitors can wander through vegetable beds, flowering gardens and a thriving food forest featuring fruit trees, bush tucker plants and pollinator-friendly species. At the entrance sits a community letterbox where locals leave seeds, donations, ideas and notes of encouragement.
Families are also greeted by Humphrey the scarecrow and his daughter Milly, two much-loved garden characters who have become favourites with visiting children.
“People often think the community garden is about the plants, but it’s really about the people and building community,” Ms Hawkins said.
“Our newest members, Trudie and Camilla, told us they were drawn to the garden for connection, fresh air and the chance to learn something new. They have wholeheartedly embraced the community, joined working bees and have made a genuine effort to connect with others.”
Like stories about Sunshine Coast people doing great things? Help us deliver more by registering for our FREE daily news feed. All it requires is your email at the bottom of this article.
The funding from Council’s Minor Grants Program will help the garden group install a purpose-built shade house, providing a protected space to grow vegetable, herb and flower seedlings while helping the garden become more self-sufficient.
A few suburbs away, Mudjimba Community Garden has its own unique story.
Completely off-grid and powered by solar energy and rainwater, the garden has become a gathering place where locals can learn, connect and contribute.
President Jenny Harrison joined shortly after moving to Mudjimba in 2025, looking for a way to find a new community with locals who shared her love of gardening.
“I love gardening and it seemed a good way to meet people who have similar interests to me,” she said.
Established in 2023, the garden now includes around 50 registered members working across teams responsible for composting, garden beds, the fruit forest and maintenance.
The garden’s early days required plenty of determination.
“When the garden was first started, we brought water to the site in 44-gallon drums on the back of a Ute and watered all our plants by hand,” Ms Harrison said.
Today, residents can drop off fruit and vegetable scraps for composting, join regular gardening sessions or attend monthly family gardening days.
Council funding will help install a fourth water tank after the garden came close to running out of water during last year’s dry spring and summer.
“A reliable water supply is essential for a garden to survive,” she said.
“It gives people the chance to build friendships, learn gardening skills, get their hands in the dirt and grow things even if they don’t have a garden at home.”
The latest round of Major Grants applications is now open and closes on October 6.
