Tarragindi Community Garden Archives

Tarragindi Bingo Night at Wellers Hill Bowls Club: Prizes, Food, & Community

Tarragindi, get those dabbers ready for a neighbourhood night of bingo that’s bigger and better than your average game night!

Read: Tarragindi Community Garden Helps Recycling Efforts, One Bottle Cap at a Time!

On March 23, the Tarragindi Community Garden will be hosting its first ever charity Bingo Night Fundraiser at the Wellers Hill Bowls Club. Along with over $1,000 in awesome prizes, they will have food trucks and the bar will be flowing all night long.

Even better, every dollar raised goes directly towards supporting Ride West and the Royal Flying Doctors Service’s mental health programs.

Photo credit: Tarragindi Community Garden/Facebook

Ride West, an annual 1200 kilometre cycling fundraiser from Brisbane to Longreach. Ride West benefits the Royal Flying Doctors Service’s mental health outreach programs in rural Queensland. Inspired to impact regional mental healthcare, Ride West has raised nearly $2 million over 13 years for the RFDS’ Wellbeing Out West initiative.

Entry to Tarragindi’s inaugural bingo evening will directly support the continuation of this life-changing rural program. Every dollar raised during the fast-paced, engaging games of bingo will go towards providing accessible mental health services across Queensland’s remote communities.

Organised by Tarragindi Community Garden founder Renae McBrien, the bingo fundraiser promises an entertaining evening for all ages. Attendees can anticipate a formal yet lively night of bingo benefiting organizations expanding critical access and support across Queensland.

Bring your family, friends, neighbours, and colleagues for a whopper of a night. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. on March 23 with games commencing at 6:00 p.m. sharp.

Read: Get To Know Renae McBrien, Founder of Tarragindi Community Garden

Secure your table early by booking through the Wellers Hill Bowls Club’s website. It’s an ultimate friends and family night out whilst supporting great causes right here in the local community. Food and drink will be available for purchase all evening.

Published 29-February-2024

Tarragindi Community Garden in Wellers Hill Nominated for 2023 WasteSMART People’s Choice Award

Photo Credit: The Tarragindi Community Garden/Facebook

As the 31 finalists of the 2023 WasteSMART People’s Choice Award are unveiled, Tarragindi Community Garden takes the spotlight for its outstanding contributions to sustainability and waste reduction.

A Sustainable Oasis in Wellers Hill

The Tarragindi Community Garden volunteers have been at the forefront of sustainable change in Brisbane, setting an impressive example for the entire community. They go the extra mile by actively composting organic and food waste from various sources, including households, childcare centres, cafes, schools, and businesses.

Notably, their Recycling Hub, an iconic feature, diverts thousands of kilograms of waste from landfill every year. This 24-hour recycling facility effectively tackles challenging waste streams that are otherwise hard to recycle through conventional means.

Impressive Statistics Tell the Story

In the last financial year, the Tarragindi Community Garden, powered by 50 dedicated volunteers, 1800 social members, and over 1000 hours of manpower, achieved remarkable milestones. They recycled 51.6 kilograms of bread tags, approximately 2.5 tonnes of bottle tops, 520 kilograms of metal lids, and assorted metal items.

Furthermore, the group composted over 2400 kilograms of food waste and contributed to a heartwarming cause by sewing 180 reusable nappies for expecting mothers in Papua New Guinea through Rotary Brisbane’s appeal.

The Gindi Garage: A Sustainable Venture

In an exciting new initiative, the Tarragindi Community Garden is currently embarking on a project to create the very first share shed in Tarragindi, aptly named the “Gindi Garage.” Volunteers are constructing the shed using reclaimed building materials salvaged from homes in Tarragindi that are being demolished for modern home developments.

This innovative venture aims to promote a culture of sharing and caring within the community by allowing residents to borrow items and equipment from the Gindi Garage for free, thus reducing excess consumption.

A History of Excellence

The group’s dedication to sustainability and waste reduction has not gone unnoticed. They previously received the WasteSMART Community Award in 2021 and the WasteSMART Outstanding Award in 2022, making them an All-Star finalist for the 2023 WasteSMART People’s Choice Award. This recognition underscores their consistent and exceptional contribution towards making Brisbane cleaner, greener, and more sustainable.

Supporting Brisbane’s Sustainability Vision

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, the driving force behind the WasteSMART Awards, encouraged all Brisbane residents to participate in the People’s Choice Award and cast their votes in support of their preferred sustainability champion. As Brisbane continues its journey to become Australia’s cleanest and greenest capital city, these awards play a pivotal role in celebrating and promoting sustainability initiatives throughout the city.

Public voting for the 2023 WasteSMART People’s Choice Award is now open and will continue until Monday, October 16. To cast your vote and explore the complete list of finalists, visit the WasteSMART Awards website.

The WasteSMART Awards are administered by the Brisbane Sustainability Agency on behalf of Brisbane City Council and are proudly sponsored by Containers for Change Queensland, Cleanaway, and The University of Queensland. The winners of the 12 WasteSMART Award categories, which boast a combined prize pool of over $4,000, will be announced at a ceremony to be held at Brisbane City Hall in November.

Published 16-Oct-2023

Tarragindi Community Garden Helps Recycling Efforts, One Bottle Cap at a Time!

Did you know that in early March 2023, Tarragindi Community Garden turned over a total of 350 kg of bottle caps for recycling to the Resitech recycling plant?

Read: Get To Know Renae McBrien, Founder of Tarragindi Community Garden

Tarragindi Community Garden Recycling Partnership

Tarragindi Community Garden has partnered with The Resitech Group, a plastic resin manufacturer based in Wacol to recycle bottle caps.

Resitech collects clean industrial plastic waste, granulates, wash and extrude it for re-use into the market by either returning the recycled waste to their original supplier (Toll Recycling) or selling the plastic as a high-quality resin.

bottle caps at Resitech — Photo credit: https://www.rtigroup.com.au/

In March 2023, Tarragindi Community Garden collected 350 kg of bottle caps in total.

“A massive effort from everyone in our community but especially to our king of bottle tops Darryl Simpson! Thank you to Councillor Krista Adams, Brisbane Sustainability Agency and the Brisbane City Council who support our unique recycling hub,” fonder Renae McBrien shared in a social media post.

Tarragindi Community Garden bottle caps — Photo credit: Renae McBrien/Facebook

The group’s bottle top lids’ recycling bin has been added to their recycling station in 2021. They also have a separate recycling bin for metal bottle tops, which usually come from wine, beer, soft drinks etc.

Once collected, metal battle caps usually directly go to United Scrap Metal at Hemmant who will process them back into reusable metals.

Tips Before Bringing Your Bottle Caps

Tarragindi Community garden recycling — Photo credit: Renae McBrien/Facebook

If you’re planning to give plastic cups, they advise sorting them and cleaning them first. You should also remove any foam inserts from the bottle caps. These are loose pieces inside juice containers.

They normally aim for #2 (high-density polyethylene) and #5 plastic (polypropylene). High-density polyethylene or HDPE plastic is among the safest sorts of plastic and can be reused without any harm. They are commonly seen in milk jugs and bottle tops.

Polypropylene, on the other hand, is a widely-used type of plastic because it’s light, heat-resistant and sturdy. They are often used for bottle caps because of their durability and cost effectiveness.

Read: How PLOYS Transforms Old Inflatable Pools Into Useful Items

Once cleaned and sorted, you can bring your bottle caps to the Tarragindi Community Garden recycling hub located at the Wellers Hill Bowls Club, Esher St Tarragindi. You can learn more about their initiatives by checking them out on Facebook.

Published 11-March-2023

How PLOYS Transforms Old Inflatable Pools Into Useful Items

Are you wondering what to do with old inflatables and pool toys? You can bring them to the Tarragindi Community Garden who collects them and turns them over to Bundaberg-based PLOYS. Get to know what happens to inflatable pools once they reach the facility.

Read: Get To Know Renae McBrien, Founder of Tarragindi Community Garden

PLOYS source the inflatable pools from various organisations throughout Queensland, including the Tarragindi community Garden, by scheduling pickup from these clubs.

They begin by cleaning the pools, before cutting the patterns and sewing them into functional items, such as bags, purses and art smocks. To ensure that the items will be durable, they use the right sewing machine foot and stitch length and reinforce seams.

Husband and wife Carin and Gerhard Sandker started the idea from having discarded pool toys and pool inflatables, that were either punctured or “just not played with anymore” on the side of their pool at home.

Carin, an occupational therapist, is the one designing the items, whilst her husband Gerhard as Systems Architect runs the IT, marketing and dispatching side of the business.

“We just couldn’t throw away all this plastic, knowing that PVC is one of the worst products to decompose; taking up to a 1000 years to disintegrate,” the Sandkers said in their website.

To reduce plastic waste and make the planet a healthier world to live in for all, Carin and Gerhard established PLOYS in 2019.

Through the Tarragindi Community Garden, PLOYS has collected as much as 200 kg of pool inflatable plastic this year. It contributes to a big milestone, as they have saved one tonne of plastics from going to landfills.

Read: Tarragindi Community Garden: Championing Domestic Waste Reduction

PLOYS encourages the public to donate their punctured pool inflatables, air mattresses, broken umbrellas and shower curtains in one of their collection points or post it to them. You can also drop them at the Tarragindi recycling hub at the Tarragindi Community Garden at Wellers Hill Bowls Club.

Get To Know Renae McBrien, Founder of Tarragindi Community Garden

From a vision of creating a shared backyard where the community can grow their own food and share it with others, Renae McBrien is now leading one of the most successful community gardens in Brisbane, the Tarragindi Community Garden.

Read: Tarragindi Community Garden: Championing Domestic Waste Reduction

Whilst leading Tarragindi Community Garden, Renae McBrien has been serving as the Community, Horticulture and Environment Consultant for the Children’s Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service since 2020.

As an environment consultant, her work involves promoting a healthier future for the children of Queensland through creating sensory and therapy landscapes of patients and staff and by reducing the environmental impact of the health care service through innovative recycling.

Before working at Queensland Children’s Hospital, she also served as the community garden and recycling consultant for Metro South Health.

Renae McBrien — Photo Credit: Tarragindi Community Garden/Facebook

Through Tarragindi Community Garden, Ms McBrien gets to lead free community workshops on composting, native bees, and worm farming.

Since opening the garden in 2020, the group has diverted 9 tonnes of organic waste from the landfill and converted it into free landscape supplies for the garden.

Every month, the group visits local Tarragindi child care centres and local primary schools to conduct recycling education sessions, and also give away free compost bags for the community.

One of their notable initiatives is the Tarragindi Toppers recycling hub, where recyclable materials such as bread tags, plastic lids, and beer and wine metal tops are being processed and then reused for circular economy projects.

For instance, the 61.4 kg of bread tags were handsorted into colours and donated to Transmutation in South Australia, where they are made into different plastic products, such as bowls, platters, and plant pots.

All their efforts have paid off, when the community garden received the 2021 WasteSMART Community Award, whilst Renae McBrien was named that year’s University of Queensland Brisbane’s WasteSMART Champion.

Read: Tarragindi Community Garden Celebrates WasteSMART Award Wins

At the last Sustainability and Science Showcase held in June 2022 at the Queensland Museum, Ms McBrien got to share her insights on how small steps in our homes can build a sustainable future.

Just recently, the group has successfully applied for the Lord Mayor’s Community Sustainability and Environmental Grants, and was awarded $2,244 which will be used to provide free herbs, harvest and plants to the community all year round as well as purse some big plans to make the garden bigger and better.

Tarragindi Community Garden: Championing Domestic Waste Reduction

Photo Credit: Tarragindi Community Garden / Facebook

Did you know that the Tarragindi Community Garden has so far rescued more than nine tonnes of food waste since it opened in 2020? Get to know this community garden that has been championing domestic waste reduction through responsible waste management.

The Tarragindi Community Garden is a volunteer group formed in 2019, consisting of Tarragindi locals who are passionate about turning the community waste management around.

The group established the community garden, situated within the grounds of the Wellers Hill Bowls Club, through the leadership of Renae McBrien with a vision of a shared backyard where everyone can enjoy the pleasure of growing their own food and sharing it with the rest of the community.

Group founder, Renae McBrien and 2021 WasteSMART Champions Awardee — Tarragindi Community Garden group founder, Renae McBrien and 2021 WasteSMART Champions Awardee
Photo Credit: supplied

To fund their project, they came up with a scheme that would not only encourage the members of the community to donate but leave donors with a sense of ownership. Through their “tree and bed sponsorship” program, the community garden was able to cover their cost of construction whilst acknowledging the families that helped fund the project by putting their names on the plaques around the garden.

Tarragindi Community Garden, 2021 WasteSMART Community Awardee | Photo Credit: supplied

Apart from growing food, the community garden hosts a community composting hub, through the support of the Brisbane City Council, that collects local domestic and commercial food waste and turns it into hot compost.

They have thus far diverted 9 tonnes of organic waste from the landfill and converted it into free landscape supplies for the garden with the rest (approximately 9 x 25L bags a month) given away to the community.

Some of the partners in the community who compost in the hub include:

Two local florists – floral and foliage waste
Two local coffee shops – coffee grinds
Wellers Hill Bowls Club bowling green waste – garden waste
Local brewery – spent beer and hops
Local primary school – brown tuckshop bags and food waste
Local Childcare centre – all daily food waste

Another initiative of the group is the Tarragindi Toppers recycling hub which captures small plastic lids, bread tags and beer and wine bottle tops for processing and reusing by Australian circular economy projects including:

253 kg of bottle tops – community volunteers process this into colours for recycling by EVOLVE plastics – Crestmead into building materials.
61.4 kg of bread tags – hand sorted into colours and donated to Transmutation in South Australia to be made into plastic bowls, platters, plant pots etc.
4.2 tonnes of PVC pool toys, air mattresses, umbrellas, shower curtains and donated to PLOYS in Bundaberg to be reused into school swim bags, library bags, purses etc.
16kg of beer and wine metal tops – recycled directly back into a Brisbane scrap metal facility.

The group also conducts free community composting workshops, free community native bee workshops with the Tarragindi Scouts groups, community worm farm workshops as well as deliver community information lectures at the BCC Masters Composting Course.

They also do monthly Tarragindi Community garden working bees with free giveaway compost bags for the community, recycling education sessions at local Tarragindi child care centres, and recycling education sessions at local primary schools.

In the 2021 WasteSMART Champions Awards, the group captured two awards: University of Queensland Brisbane’s WasteSMART Champion for Renae McBrien and WasteSMART Community Award for The Tarragindi Community Garden.

Tarragindi Community Garden | 34 Esher St Tarragindi QLD 4121

Tarragindi Community Garden Celebrates WasteSMART Award Wins

Photo credit: Charmaine Consolati - Tarragindi Community Garden / Facebook

Tarragindi Community Garden, together with its founder, Renae McBrien, celebrate back-to-back wins at Brisbane’s WasteSMART Champions Awards 2021.

They were recognised for helping Brisbane hospitals adopt smarter clinical recycling methods and responsible waste management.

The 2021 WasteSMART Awards is a collaboration between Brisbane Sustainability Agency and Brisbane City Council with a prize pool of more than $4,000.

During the ceremony held at City Hall on 18 November 2021, eleven awards were handed out to recognise individuals and groups who have contributed to the preservation of the city’s natural environment.

University of Queensland Brisbane’s WasteSMART Champion Renae McBrien was recognised for her role in mitigating waste from Brisbane landfills. Ms McBrien established the Tarragindi Community Garden Group in 2019 and has since devoted more than 850 hours doing volunteer work.

Photo credit: Charmaine Consolati – Tarragindi Community Garden / Facebook

Through her small waste diversion and resource recovery projects, the city has mitigated about 9 tonnes of domestic and commercial organic waste since January 2020. As part of her advocacy, Ms McBrien also educated over 1,200 hospital staff about responsible waste management and clinical recycling methods.

“Tarragindi’s Renae McBrien has helped Brisbane hospitals adopt smarter recycling methods and she also dedicates time to educate the community about waste initiatives through her War on Waste Brisbane Facebook page,” Cr Steven Toomey said.

The Tarragindi Community Garden won the WasteSMART Community Award along with Ocean Crusaders Foundation Ltd. The Tarragindi Community Garden currently has over 1,000 social members. This community space has collected over 150 compost caddies and rescued over nine tonnes of food waste in the past 10 months.

The community garden provides free harvest and garden produce, conducts sustainable education sessions, and runs their own Recycling Hub.

The other WasteSMART category winners are:

Councillors’ WasteSMART Choice Award – Karana Downs & Surrounds Community Garden Hub
WasteSMART Business Award (<19 employees) – Vessel Nundah
WasteSMART Business Award ( >20 employees) – Howard Smith Wharves
WasteSMART Early Learning Award – Bellbowrie Early Education Centre
WasteSMART Schools Award – Joint Winners: Mt St Michael’s College and Pallara State School Environment Club
Outstanding WasteSMART Award – Save Our Supplies
People’s Choice WasteSMART Award – Mt St Michael’s College.

The finalists were judged by a panel of experts, except for the People’s Choice Awards which was determined through public voting.The other two finalists for the WasteSMART Champions Award were Holly & Charlie Garrity (Highly Recommended) and Pamela Gibson. On the other hand, Care Kits for Kids Qld Inc was WasteSMART Community Award Highly Recommended awardee. Other WasteSMART Community Award finalists were Save Our Supplies, eWaste Connection Limited, and Moreton Island Protection Committee.

Tarragindi Community Garden | 34 Esher St Tarragindi QLD 4121

Upgrades Underway to Improve Wellers Hill Bowls Club in Tarragindi

If you’ve been by Wellers Hill Bowls Club in Tarragindi in recent weeks, you may have noticed the ongoing construction work to the front of the community space. Some upgrades are being done to improve the outdoor areas and further renovations will continue indoors in the next four months.

The club confirmed the redevelopment in a post on Facebook as the first stage of the earthworks has gotten underway. This phase covers the construction of the wheelchair-accessible path to the entrance and the removal of the front garden section whilst changes will also be made to the courtyard.

Despite the construction, Wellers Hill Bowls Club will continue to trade and serve visitors. The normal activities guests have enjoyed through the years, such as the Thursday Trivia Nights and Jack Attack (barefoot bowling), will not be interrupted.

It is business as usual at the club! In fact, the weekend food truck showcase is still in full force with the following line-up for the month of March:

The upkeep and harvest from the Tarragindi Community Garden next door will not be affected by the renovations. However, the gardeners might have to make some sacrifices and use the rear entry for some weeks.

Meanwhile, Wellers Hill Bowls Club is seeking suggestions from the community for someone with a creative idea to turn a white wall into a beautiful mural. Do you know an artist who could make use of this free canvas?

“We’re interested in some pieces that represent our club, the community or even just something nice to look at while we undergo renovations,” the club officials said.

Email bookings@whbowls.net if you have brilliant ideas on what design could go on this wall.

The renovation works are expected to finish by June 2021.

Dispose of Old Pool Toys, Air Mattresses at the Tarragindi Recycling Bin

Do you have old pool toys, air mattresses, umbrellas or lunch boxes for disposal? As the Council’s kerbside collection remains suspended until mid-2022, consider dropping these items at the Tarragindi Community Garden at Wellers Hill Bowls Club, where there’s a Tarragindi Recycling Bin.

The bin, an initiative by Tarragindi resident Renae McBrien, is accessible 24 hours a day and collected regularly. Ms McBrien’s team brings these broken or popped items to PLOYS, an initiative that repurposes old stuff into trendy bags, backpacks, smartphone cases, pouches or wallets to promote recycling and achieve zero waste.

At the end of December 2020, Ms McBrien was able to collect a substantial number of recyclables that were taken to PLOYS’ Bundaberg site, where the items will be cleaned, repaired and sewn to become new products.

Incidentally, PLOYS celebrated its first year of operation on 9 Jan 2021 with a price cut on its online eco-friendly items.

Ms McBrien is a radiographer, horticultural therapist and consultant on community gardening and recycling. She has been instrumental in helping Brisbane hospitals adopt smarter recycling methods.

“We have a responsibility to reduce the environmental impact of the health care service and to improve our hospital environments to increase our wellbeing and connection with nature,” Ms McBrien said.

The Council has recognised Ms McBrien’s contribution by awarding her the Waste Innovation 2019 award. She was also honoured with an International Woman of the Year citation and a Planetree Kindness Award in recent years.