Elleca Polson (centre), a TAFE Horticulture, Conservation and Land Management student is presented with a $2000 Scholarship by Dr Lyn Edwards (left) from OGSA and Dr Leanna Read (right) from the Playford Foundation. Since the beginning of OGSA’s inaugural 2015/16 season, after the demise of the national scheme, there has been fantastic support from SA Garden Owners and the South Australian gardening community with a total of just under 80,000 visits to garden openings across the three and a half seasons.
The OGSA model returns 50% of the gate takings to garden owners for distribution to their many and varied charities. At many openings, further funds are also raised for their charities by add-on events … plant sales, afternoon teas, sausage sizzles and the like.
During this Spring Season of garden openings a significant a milestone was passed.
Since we began in 2015, the total return to charities and community organisations has topped the $500,000 mark…. a great achievement in such a relatively short time!
With a very strong volunteer effort, prudent management practices, and some very welcome initial sponsorship in areas such as photocopying, legal and IT services we believe that Open Gardens SA has now consolidated a firm base for the future. We are getting ourselves into a position that ensures that the opening of private gardens to the public can continue well into the future and where we can begin to develop a program to provide assistance to garden related projects that will benefit the community. Among the first steps in this area OGSA, through the Playford Trust, is providing three $2000 scholarships to students studying Horticulture or Conservation and Land Management. There have also been donations to the Botanic Gardens Little Sprouts program, the Adelaide Day Centre kitchen garden project and to the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden to help fund some important infrastructure there…
This is all in addition to the funds that are returned to charities and the community through the garden owners.
OGSA has donated to the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden at Port Augusta to assist with the construction of a feral proof fence.