Garden honours founder with tree planting

For the ceremony to be held during Volunteer’s Week is fitting, as it also pays tribute to Mrs Renwick’s dedication to the Deniliquin Community Garden but many other local organisations.

It also comes as the first anniversary of Mrs Renwick’s passing, on June 11, approaches.

Mrs Renwick’s husband Lindsay will be among the special guests at the tree planting, which Deni Community Garden president Ben Harris said is open to the public.

“Jan was the founder of our gardens, and was a life member,” Mr Harris said.

“She came up with the idea in 2004 and then worked for a few years to get it up and running. The gardens were established in 2006.

“She is considered the matriarch of the organisation, and even when she was no longer an active member, we would go to her for advice and guidance.”

Mrs Renwick got the idea for the gardens after attending an agricultural women's conference in 2004.

She worked with the then Deniliquin Council to establish the volunteer group and the gardens in Whitelock St, to realise a vision to create a shared space to grow vegetables and produce.

Mr Harris said the group has decided to plant an orange tree in Mrs Renwick’s memory near the entrance of the gardens, which will be marked by a plaque.

As well as being a focal point of the garden, he said the produce from the tree will be made available to the community for years to come - further working toward her vision for the gardens.

The ceremony begins at 11am. Light refreshments will be available as part of the morning, including soup made by Infused Smoko Shak from pumpkins grown at the gardens.

“We’ve grown the pumpkins with the help of a Rotary Club of Deniliquin grant, which allowed us to add irrigation,” Mr Harris said.

“We’ll also have some pumpkins available on Saturday, which people can take home by making a donation.

“The gardens are looking great overall, and we invite people to come down and take a look at all the work that’s gone into it since being founded by Jan in 2006.”

The Deni Community Garden is located at 44 Whitelock St, Deniliquin, behind the Deniliquin Swim Centre.