You may have noticed the BCLN River Garden taking shape next to the Bass River bridge as you drive down the Bass highway, just in the paddock below the Landcare office.
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The 1ha River Garden community site is a space for our community to gather, learn and grow healthy food using regenerative growing techniques. We demonstrate these by establishing growing spaces using various horticultural innovations, and anyone can participate in our educational activities for all ages to learn more.  This space has been conceived as a co-creation with the local community and we  invite you to participate!
To date we have planted a ‘water-wise’ orchard, a series of swale beds on our slope, including a kitchen garden demonstration and espaliered heritage fruit trees, a nuttery, and a berry trellis. A range of different raised garden beds and wicking beds for annual vegetables have been installed, with a variety of perennial herbs, companion plants and annual vegetables also growing in the swale beds.
​In 2024 we planted a Conservation Zone and Seed orchard, comprised of a border of indigenous plants with over 60 different species. This acts as an attractor of pollinators, wind protection, a place to grow hard plants with harder to collect seed, with signage soon to be installed. A bushfood garden and wetlands area help to filter any water running off the site into the adjoining Bass River. We area also creating an eco-trail incorporating all of the above into an educational resource for passive recreation and walks for our community to enjoy. 
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There is space and the opportunity at the River Garden for much, much more.... Future plans include establishing educational activity spaces for school groups, including a Training Nursery and an all-weather education shelter to be used in our various activities and workshops.
We can't wait to involve you in a range of Volunteer Blitz sessions and Master Classes with guest horticulture and permaculture trainers, as well as our knowledgeable Landcare staff who are always on hand to welcome new volunteers and participants.
​We also have local groups participate in organised activities. If you, your group or organisation is interested in getting involved at the River Garden, please let us know by filling out the contact form below. ​

River Garden kids 
​back for 2026!

This year we will be hosting 8 more sessions over Autumn and Spring with remaining funding from Andrews Foundation. Look out for dates being announced soon for fun activities at the River garden, specially designed for 3-5 year olds and their adults to have fun together and learn how grow food and look after the environment. 

River Garden Blitz sessions  - 2026

This year at the River Garden we will be hosting a range of activity days from a few different projects, including the Climate Smart Future Homes and Farms Series, funded from the Bass Coast Shire Council Environmental Partnerships Program. There will be three workshops in this series in the first half of 2026. Look out for updates on that by clicking here to get to our Future Homes program page on this website.

​Thanks to funding from our BCLN Public fund, with proceeds from our Landcare art show, we will resume hosting our River Garden Blitz sessions again in the second half of 2026. These will run on the second Saturday of the month, with guest speakers including Rick Coleman from Southern Cross Permaculture sharing his wealth of practical permaculture knowledge, our own Lisa Wangman, Education, Training and Communications Manager who oversees the River Garden management, and two of our sessions will run by Harriet Pellizzer, as a part of the Living Lightly program, generously sponsored by the Bass Coast Shire Council in partnership with Bass Coast Adult Learning Centre.  We also have a few new speakers on topics that are new for the River Garden this year, please keep checking back on this page for updates and openings for bookings for the sessions. 

River Garden Guiding Principles

  • Biologically centred, minimal chemical approach
  • Minimum waste
  • Sharing of knowledge, ideas and resources
  • Maximising energy flows and nutrient cycling on site
  • Growing for nutrient density and long term fertility
  • Increasing soil volume over time
  • Maximising production for available space, multiple use
  • Use of local resources

Community Projects

  • Collaborative and communal
  • Respectful and friendly
  • Tolerant, inclusive and embracing of differences
  • Self directed
  • Sourcing and sharing of skills and knowledge from cultural traditions in our wider community
  • Working with multiple partners                                       

Current Projects

  • Swale beds for retaining water on slopes
  • Community garden
  • Nuttery, Heritage espalier trees and berry trellis
  • Water filtering, biodiverse wetlands area​
  • Conservation zone on river and roadside boundaries, including Seed orchard for indigenous plants

upcoming projects

  • Education shelter and  under cover gathering  space
  • Community Training Nursery
  • Self guided eco-walk with interpretive signage

    Expressions of Interest in Volunteer program