Money raised to restore community garden
The Peninsula Environment Group has raised more than $360 at a local shopping centre to restore the Woy Woy Peninsula Community Garden from recent fire damage.
The money raised at Deepwater Plaza Shopping Centre will go towards replacing the garden's storage shed and other equipment which had been destroyed in a series of arson attacks earlier this year.
Garden coordinator Ms Tania Haydn said the group had been touched by the level of support they had received since reports of the garden's plight surfaced.
"The outpour of support from the community has been amazing," Ms Haydn said.
"Ever since the major arson attack where we lost the shed we've had people donating to our fundraiser on Go Fund Me, but we've also had people donating all sorts of things from watering cans to wheelbarrows," Ms Haydn said.
According to Ms Haydn, the group was focusing its efforts on raising funds as the burnt-out garden shed will need to be removed and replaced before volunteers can get the garden's day-to-day operations back on track.
Ms Haydn said the group had applied for grant funding through Central Coast Council and Clubs NSW to replace the shed and for new fencing and security cameras.
The grant funding will also be applied to new security measures the group hopes to install.
"We're hopeful we can get the garden where we want it to be within the next 12 months and then we can all get back to the core work of the garden, improving and educating our community," Ms Haydn said.
SOURCE:
Interview (Dilon Luke), 2 Apr 2019
Tania Haydn, Peninsula Environment Group