Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

Join urban food garden specialist Kat Lavers from The Plummery as she discusses garden tools and infrastructure.

The session will cover:

• alternatives to pots
• stakes
• shade cloth
• nets
• buckets
• ties
• and what to look out for in hard rubbish, skips and op shops.

Kat will also cover which tools are worth investing a few dollars in, and how to look after them.

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

Registration is recommended but not required.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

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Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

In this comprehensive program, Sustainable Gardening Australia will cover everything you need to know about preparing your garden (in Spring) for a bumper summer harvest.

Part one will cover planning, preparing, and growing your garden organically.

Topics include:

• what does growing organically mean
• designing your summer organic garden
• soil management and amendment
• organic fertilizers
• integrated pest management
• composting and worm farms.

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

In this comprehensive program, Sustainable Gardening Australia will cover everything you need to know about preparing your garden (in Spring) for a bumper summer harvest.

Part 2 will cover:

• garden maintenance and preparation
• selecting what to plant and when to plant it
• summer veggies in pots
• mulching
• smart watering and managing hot weather
• introducing sustainable ways to improve productivity
• starting with seeds and seedlings
• tips for sustainably avoiding and managing pests and diseases
• feeding the soil and summer crops.

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Learn how to make seed bombs for your home or community garden.

In this hands-on workshop, you’ll discover how to make seed bombs using native flower seeds and all the nutrients and protection the seeds need to get a great start on life.

Suitable for children aged 5 to 12 years.

Learn more about your legal rights whilst planning for your future during this free webinar.

Anita Koochew from Eastern Community Legal Centre will deliver an online information session on the role of Powers of Attorney and other Substitute Decision Making mechanisms to support people with a disability and their carers.

This event is being delivered as part of Victorian Law Week 2024. 

Manningham Volunteer Resource Service (Eastern Volunteers) will be hosting the 2nd Annual Manningham Volunteer Expo.

The Expo will feature organisations from various sectors, including: aged care, disability, new migrant services, gardening and conservation, animal welfare, hospitality, emergency and other community services.

• If you are interested in volunteering, come along to learn more about:
• Local organisations and what they do for the Manningham community
• The Manningham Volunteer Resource Service and how they can assist you with the volunteer journey
• The various benefits of volunteering
• The different ways you can volunteer

Register online or walk in on the day.

Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

Manningham has more than four seasons. Duncan Cocking from Leaf, Root and Fruit will deep dive into succession planning for local conditions.

Duncan will discuss the patterns that he sees in nature and how easily you can begin observing them too. Use these observations to inspire your gardening activities by working with nature rather than against it. Learn how to refine your succession planting and ripen that elusive Christmas tomato. Create your own action plan for your vegetable patch.

Topics covered include:

• the seasons of Melbourne/Manningham
• being an observant gardener
• Phenology
• timing of planting and succession planting
• growing Christmas tomatoes, creating an action plan.

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

Registration is recommended but not required.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening series to inspire you to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

Gardens are the natural habitat for all types of insects – the good, the bad and the ugly.

Integrated Pest Management aims to manage pests using a mixture of physical, cultural, and biological control methods, with low impact chemical being used as a last resort.

This session will cover:

• an introduction to Integrated Pest Management 
• being a detective – identifying the culprits
• beneficial insects versus pests
• using barriers and cultural strategies
• when to consider garden chemicals
• an introduction to companion plants to help control garden pests and diseases
• common garden pests and control options.

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Home Harvest Manningham is a monthly home gardening seminar series that will teach you how to grow your own delicious fresh food at home.

Karen Sutherland has a lifelong passion for growing her own food. In this seminar Karen will share with you her expertise in incorporating a bush tucker garden at your place.

This session will cover:

• the best bush food plants for gardens in Manningham
• which plants to pot vs those to plant in the ground
• basic growing information
• the basics of harvesting bush 'tucker'
• simple uses for both fresh and dried plants.

Start your passion for native edibles such as lemon and cinnamon myrtle, native thyme and sage, peppers, mints, fruits and berries.

Food swap from 6.45pm, session starts at 7.00pm.

Registration is recommended but not required.

This event is part of our Inspired Living Series. This series showcases an exciting range of fun and sustainable activities and events for all ages, supporting sustainability at home, in the community and at work.

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Want to make the most of your Sunday?

We could all do with less alcohol in our lives. So every Sunday during August Aquarena are offering free access to the centre to push back against boozy weekends and start your week right!

From 8:00am and 10:00am participants get access to:

• gym
• pool, spa and steam room
• group fit classes (subject to availability on the day).

This offer is for all genders and abilities aged 18 years plus.

Bring your friends and family along to have fun and feed good. Together, let’s take Sundays back!

#SundaySessions #TakeBackSunday

This program is a partnership with Active Manningham, Access Health and Community, and Manningham Council.

Introducing The Thrive Program – an empowering program of self-discovery and reconnection with community for women aged 60 plus.

“Thrive” will foster a supportive community of like-minded women on the shared path to personal growth and fulfillment, and a life filled with purpose, positivity, and authentic connections.

This free 5-session program is designed specifically for women aged 60 plus (living in Manningham) who are ready to embrace the next chapter of their lives with confidence, clarity, and purpose. Our aim is to empower participants to connect with true self, strengthen bonds within the local Manningham community and cultivate a deeper sense of belonging and fulfillment.

We are currently taking expressions of interest and invite eligible participants to apply. 

To apply, please call  9842 6726 or complete the online enquiry form on our website. 

Introducing The Thrive Program – an empowering program of self-discovery and reconnection with community for women aged 60 plus.

“Thrive” will foster a supportive community of like-minded women on the shared path to personal growth and fulfillment, and a life filled with purpose, positivity, and authentic connections.

This free 5-session program is designed specifically for women aged 60 plus (living in Manningham) who are ready to embrace the next chapter of their lives with confidence, clarity, and purpose. Our aim is to empower participants to connect with true self, strengthen bonds within the local Manningham community and cultivate a deeper sense of belonging and fulfillment.

We are currently taking expressions of interest and invite eligible participants to apply. 

To apply, please call  9842 6726 or complete the online enquiry form on our website. 

Come and experience the botanic beauty of the luscious gardens at Applewood at our Open Gardens event.

James Wall from Gardenworld will do a presentation on springtime planting and provide tips to keep your garden in pristine condition.

Then we will do a walking tour of the village gardens, where you can admire the peaceful backdrop and stunning landscaping in this sophisticated oasis purpose-built for over 55s.

An afternoon tea will follow in the Community Centre.

We acknowledge that racism continues to be a reality for many people in Victoria. This event provides an opportunity to hear from people who have explored this topic extensively with local communities, and those with lived experience.

Tackling Racism is an event to mark United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Manningham Council has partnered with Victoria University on a project mapping racism where it occurs, understanding the reporting barriers and supporting the needs of people who experience it.

Come along to hear Dr Mario Peucker, Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow, share his findings from the report. Lingzhi Ruan, from Womens Health East, will talk about their anti-racism project Taking Action to Combat Racism with Mandarin speaking women. The event will also feature a panel consisting of local community members and the Eastern Community Legal Centre sharing their insights and experiences on tackling racism and promoting equality.

As part of the Inspired Living Series, Hannah Maloney and Adam Grubb will discuss permaculture and waterwise gardens at the Manningham Function Centre.

Hannah Moloney

Hannah Moloney is best known for her work in permaculture and as a presenter on ABC’s Gardening Australia. Her first book The Good Life: How To Grow A Better World explores ways to counter the climate emergency individually and collectively. Hannah will discuss founding Good Life Permaculture in Tasmania, Home Harvest an annual edible garden tour and why she is known as the 'compost queen'.

Adam Grubb

Adam Grubb runs Very Edible Gardens, who have been designing and creating edible home and community gardens in Melbourne for the last 15 years. He's also co-authored several books, including The Art of Frugal Hedonism and The Weed Forager's Handbook. He got into edible gardening (and co-founded the Permablitz movement of volunteer backyard makeovers) in the mid 2000's in the heart of the millenium drought. Adam will take some lessons learnt then and since to share ways that we can create lush and productive oases with a minimum of water use including wicking beds, passive water capture with micro earthworks, tanks, greywater and more. 
 

Inspired Living Series - keynote speaker events

The Inspired Living Series - keynote speaker events showcases five insightful, not-to-be-missed evenings at the iconic Manningham Function Centre.

The series will introduce you to a diverse line-up of local and international keynote speakers offering unique insights on how we can all shift to a greener future.

Topics range from permaculture to sustainable fashion. Each speaker will inspire and motivate simple, positive lifestyle choices, connection to nature and growing a thriving community in the midst dynamic change.

As part of the Inspired Living Series, Jesse Glascott and Elle Paton will discuss sustainable building design and tiny homes at the Manningham Function Centre.

Jesse Glascott, is co-founder of the Sustainable Building Alliance, Director of G-Lux Builders and architect of the iconic Warrandyte Panel House. Jesse will discuss what goes into designing and building net zero sustainable homes.

Elle Paton is co-founder of the Australian Tiny House Association. Tiny homes are prefabricated, transportable dwellings that can provide off-grid, eco-friendly and low cost solutions. Elle will share her story of what its like to live in a tiny house.

Inspired Living Series - keynote speaker events

The Inspired Living Series - keynote speaker events showcases five insightful, not-to-be-missed evenings at the iconic Manningham Function Centre.

The series will introduce you to a diverse line-up of local and international keynote speakers offering unique insights on how we can all shift to a greener future.

Topics range from permaculture to sustainable fashion. Each speaker will inspire and motivate simple, positive lifestyle choices, connection to nature and growing a thriving community in the midst dynamic change.

There is a huge array of nutritious and delicious Asian vegetables that thrive in Melbourne over autumn and winter. 

Come along and learn from Connie Cao, passionate home gardener and author of 'My Asian Veggie Patch' about how to grow, care for, harvest and cook with these unique herbs and vegetables.

The seminar begins at 6.30pm, or join us from 6.15pm for our monthly food swap, where you can bring and trade homegrown produce, cuttings, seeds, gardening magazines, jars, ferments and more!

About Home Harvest: Home Harvest is a free, complete home gardening program that runs monthly from February to December. It aims to educate and inspire residents to grow their own organic, nutritious and delicious produce at home. The series hosts seminars, question and answer time, on-site activities and food swaps! 

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

In celebration of International Permaculture Day, join Kat Lavers, a renowned permaculturist and owner of iconic garden 'The Plummery', to explore the incredible world of edible perennials beyond rhubarb, artichokes and asparagus. We will also discuss how to maximise yields through clever crop choice and parts of plants you may not realise are edible (and delicious).

The seminar begins at 6.30pm, or join us from 6.15pm for our monthly food swap, where you can bring and trade homegrown produce, cuttings, seeds, gardening magazines, jars, ferments and more!

About Home Harvest: Home Harvest is a free, complete home gardening program that runs monthly from February to December. It aims to educate and inspire residents to grow their own organic, nutritious and delicious produce at home. The series hosts seminars, question and answer time, on-site activities and food swaps! 

Subscribe to our Environment Newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest environment and sustainability events.

Subscribe now

Are you a not-for-profit group or organisation doing great work for older people in our community?

You could be eligible for our Healthy Ageing Grant which will provide between $3,001 and $20,000 in funding. Applications open on Monday 3 June and close Friday 5 July 2024. 

We encourage community organisation representatives to attend this information session which will cover: 

• grant overview

• eligibility

• key dates

• how to apply

• required information

• assessment criteria

This event is suitable for community health services, leisure providers, learning organisations and neighbourhood houses. 

Bookings are essential and limited to two people per organisation.

Need assistance? 

If you have questions or want to know more about our grants program, contact our Grants team on 9840 9333 or email grants@manningham.vic.gov.au.