I work and volunteer at an amazing midwifery clinic called MAMA (Midwives and Mothers Australia) and recently Summer and I got to work setting up a community herb garden that clients and midwives can use to make up medicinal teas for anything from oversupply of milk to upset stomachs.
Someone before us had already started by making big wicking beds out of old pallets so we begun by topping them up with some compost and soil.Wicking beds, put simply are garden beds that have a waterproof lining which holds a reservoir of water that is drawn up to the surface of the bed. They are perfect for places like Melbourne where the Summers a hot and dry and water evaporates really quickly.
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| From http://www.urbanfoodgarden.org/main/wicking-beds/wicking-beds.htm |
-A little side note from Summer - The first time I heard of a midwife, it was as a healer woman in historical communities. Supporting women during their birthing being only part of their role, along with nurturing people using their knowledge of the plants and other resources about them. I was quite young at the time, and thought this title sounded a bit like some kind of awesome witch. My view of midwifery has obviously changed quite a bit as I've got older, but planting these herbs took me back to my first discovery of midwives as care givers. It was a perfect balance to the healthcare system we both are now studying in, to be learning about an older knowledge base, that utilises and integrates the natural resources aroud us into our health.
The next few photo's are from a permablitz at a local community garden where we got stuck into weeding and winter pruning in the food forest, shared a delicious meal and went to a great composting workshop.
It was a cold but beautiful day of sharing of knowledge, skills and inspiration. It was really great to connect up with other people that have an incredible wealth of knowledge about growing food in our area.
Leah.
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