CAM LUND grew up with dirt in his blood and while the son of Mt Mort farmer Wayne Lund moved into the Ipswich big smoke years ago his roots remain firmly planted in agriculture.
As a dedicated Ipswich Council worker Cam has had the opportunity to overview the city firsthand taking note of its sprawling development.
It prompted him to start the “Ipswich Plant Swap” group six years ago and like the plants themselves he has seen the membership grow.
With numbers quickly increasing he looked around for a regular meeting place and through his council travels saw that a former local garden group had come and gone at Leichhardt Community Centre.
“It’s not unusual for these types of groups to disappear as they need motivated and dedicated members to lead them,” he said.
“When these key people move on sometimes the drive behind the garden they look after goes.
“Fortunately, on this occasion the Ipswich Plant Swap group with almost 6000 members was looking for a place and the abandoned and overgrown Leichhardt Garden became an ideal centre for us.”
Its members embraced the opportunity and major working bees have now turned an abandoned weed lot into a flourishing garden.
Every third Saturday of the month around 80 members arrive to share their enthusiasm for gardening and tend the hundreds of fruit trees and plants they have put in.
Local garden suppliers Sapar have got behind the project donating truckloads of mulch.
“I am proud of what we have done here at Leichhardt, but it is far from just the Cam Show,” he said.
“We have awesome volunteers who treat this community garden as if it’s their own.
“We are not an exclusive club, and we welcome any new members to come along, even if it’s just to swap a few plants or have a chat about gardening.
“Importantly there are no membership fees, the only cost is your own time.”
