Mr Nickoll has been working with a steering committee for the past few months, some of whom were involved in setting up a community garden in Banksia Grove that fell through in its final stages.
‘The passion that these people have is still there,’ he said.
He said some members of the committee were interested in sustainability and organic gardening and his focus was the community and children’s education.
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READ NOW‘I’ve got a three-year-old son and we’ve got a vegetable patch at home, and he absolutely loves spending time in there,’ he said. ‘This is where my idea for this first came up.’
The group is hoping to create the garden on a 5000sq m vacant lot next to Ashley Park.
‘It’s in walking distance of Spring Hill Primary School and an over-55s lifestyle village, and next door 14 units have been built and they all have no back yards, so they’re the key people we’d like to see using the community garden,’ he said.
‘The grounds there are also ex-market gardens so they will virtually be prepared and an ideal use for that.’
He said the benefits of a community garden were unlimited.
‘I would like to see some of the lifestyle village residents come out of the complex and mix with the community, teach some kids about gardening and sustainability and meet new people,’ he said.
‘Some research even shows that suburbs with community gardens have reduced crime rates.’
Mr Nickoll has set up a Facebook page called Tapping Community Garden, which already has more than 130 likes. For details, email tappingcg@gmail.com.