The food justice global movement has reached the communities of Brisbane’s West End and Kangaroo Point through “Growing Forward“.  Growing Forward is a form of guerrilla gardening where small groups of like-minded friends, neighbours and activists come together to develop small community fruit, vegetable, and herb gardens on government land, to spread food equity and security.

The international food justice movement advocates for food resilience and sustainability in all communities regardless of location, income, or property size. It grew as concerns emerged about food equity and sustainability during the COVID pandemic.

Starting in April 2020, Growing Forward established a garden in West End (Kurilpa) and expanded to Dutton Park, Moorooka and Kangaroo Point. Based on organic regenerative farming principles, the gardens provide fresh food to local organisations that prepare and provide free meals.

The Refugee Solidarity Garden established in Kangaroo Point was a response to the plight of refugees held in detention, says representative Ruby from Growing Forward.

“The food was never going directly to the men who were detained at Kangaroo Point, it was more of an act of solidarity,” she said.

“We decided to do a garden in that specific location because the protests and prison were so close. It was a way to engage people who were protesting.”

The men held in detention in Kangaroo Point have now been released into the community and are being supported by locals, including those involved in the community garden project.

Johnathan Sri, Councillor for the Gabba Ward, has supported the Growing Forward movement and assists in planting native produce around the West End.

“We want people to actually reclaim the public space, we want them to take more control over the areas of land in front of their house and essentially practice a form of communing,” Cr Sri said when interviewed for Mycelium: An Urban Food Uprising,[i] a documentary by Christine Schindler and Nathan Gibson.

“The whole point here is bringing people together… People feel more passionate about their local neighbourhood and will get more involved in those bigger discussions about what kind of community we want to live in.”

By taking over government and council lands, gardeners and volunteers acknowledge and respect traditional indigenous ownership of the land.

On their Facebook page, Growing Forwards says:

“In the grand scheme of things, Growing Forward is a small initiative, but it is a form of resistance where the community has successfully challenged “state” occupation of stolen land, transformed the plots with regenerative urban farming practices and undermined colonial law with mutual aid.”

More information

Find more information about the Growing Forward movement at their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/GrowingForwardKurilpa/), and more details about the Mycelium documentary on their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/myceliumthefilm)

  [i] Mycelium is being screened at community events around Brisbane and was recently nominated for awards at the British Documentary Film Festival.