Giving Logan refugees room to grow
7 February 2009
Providing refugees space in a community garden to grow their own fresh, nutritious food is an initiative the Australian Government is proud to support, Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, Laurie Ferguson said today.
‘Under the Department of Immigration and Citizenship’s settlement grants program, we granted $40 000 to ACCES Inc to work with Griffith University on their community food garden project,’ Mr Ferguson said.
The community food garden is on Griffith University’s Logan campus. Encouraging refugee participation in the garden is one component of the university’s Food, Culture and Community in Logan project which has also received funding from the Queensland Government, Logan City Council and other non-government agencies.
‘ACCES’s clients, who are mainly from war-torn African countries and have settled in the Logan area, will be able to grow food in the garden and attend gardening and nutrition information sessions,’ Mr Ferguson said.
‘One of the issues we face in settling refugees in Australia is making sure they have access to healthy, nutritious food and are educated about making good food choices.
‘Many of our humanitarian entrants have spent years in refugee camps existing on basic food supplies and can find the range of foods here bewildering.
‘The project will also provide an opportunity for participants to learn important management and organisational skills as they form a committee to run the garden on a day-to-day basis.
Community gardens are becoming increasingly popular in Australia and are a small but important part of our society’s environmental sustainability.’
The settlement grants program will provide about $34 million in 2009-10 to organisations that help new arrivals settle in Australia.
Grants are made to projects that help new arrivals orient themselves to their new community, help new communities develop and promote social participation and integration.
‘I congratulate all organisations involved on today’s launch of the Griffith University community food garden,’ Mr Ferguson added.
Media contact: Carla Wilshire 0432 755 935
URL: http://www.minister.immi.gov.au
/parlsec/media/media-releases/2009/lf09008.htm
Last update: 09 February 2009 at 14:02 AEST