Banksia Gardens Community Services

National Reconciliation Week began yesterday, a time to reflect on the 1967 Referendum, the Mabo decision, and the ongoing work of truth‑telling and reconciliation.

This week encourages us to deepen our understanding of First Nations histories, cultures and achievements, and to consider how we can contribute to reconciliation as individuals, as an organisation, and as a community.

We are proud to be working on our Reconciliation Action Plan, a significant step for our organisation.

The artwork shown is an Acknowledgement of Country piece by local Gamillaroi artist and staff member, Emma Russell.

[Image Description: A painted artwork by Gamillaroi artist, Emma Russell, features a Banksia flower in the centre with gradient circles with symbols of waterways, animals and humans. Surrounding this is land and sky.]

This olive season, our Common Bean Cafe and Common Green teams harvested 67kg of olives to support Playte’s fundraising for farming resilience in Palestine 🇵🇸

Olive trees carry history, care and connection, and we are proud to contribute in a small but meaningful way, alongside others donating olives to help reach the 500kg goal.

After processing and bottling, and .hardingst will be hosting an event on 7 June, where the community olive oil will be available (details to come).

Huge thanks to Nick and Ahmad for leading the harvest 🫒

Congratulations to the El Amal Women’s Group for their incredible contribution to VIGIL by Outer Urban Projects

16 women participated in workshops, rehearsals, and 10 incredible performances, bringing stories and community voices to the stage. These performances explored important themes including gender-based violence, safety, race, belonging, war, and public and private violence through performance, storytelling, music, and movement.

We are so proud of the El Amal women’s dedication and the way they represented experiences of women from Arabic‑speaking backgrounds.

A big thank you to Outer Urban Projects and everyone involved in making this experience possible for our group.

The Oorja Women’s Group came together to celebrate Mother’s Day 💐

Women shared beautiful poems, stories and songs, some written for their mums, others for their children.

We followed it up with a round of bingo (with a few very lucky winners!) before wrapping up the afternoon by dancing together and sharing delicious food.

If you are a woman from the Indian community and would like to join this group, we would love to hear from you.
📞 Program Coordinator: 0426 462 342
📧 [email protected]

The Oorja Women’s Group meets every Saturday, 11am–1pm at Newbury Child and Community Centre in Craigieburn.

A program of our Kenley Court Neighbourhood House.

Our new 3-bay composting system is up and running in the community garden, and it’s bigger and better than ever!

Last year we processed an incredible 3.4 tonnes of organic waste. This year we have already passed the 1 tonne mark, with the new bays alone responsible for 750kg of that! 

Next time you are at Banksia Gardens, come and see the system in action 🌱

[Image description: A woman holding a paintbrush and paint kneels in front of a large composting bay system with a mural of the composting process painted on the front.]

Have you spotted the new mural panels around the futsal pitch?

Co‑designed by and our Kick’N’Mix young people, the mural panels reflect our local sports community.

Big shoutout to Nick and Ahmad from Common Green for installing them as part of their social enterprise work, and yes, they’re coated to handle both tagging and Melbourne weather!

During the April school holidays, the Banksia Gardens Housing Estate community came together for another Play It Forward creative restoration workshop at the Fir Cl playground. The day was full of energy and colour, offering activities like free-form mural painting, gardening, fibre arts, mosaic making and the ever-popular obstacle course.

Funded by Department of Families, Fairness and Housing - VIC Community Connections and the Australian Government Department of Education Social Cohesion Through Education programs, this project celebrates the strength and creativity of local residents reclaiming and reshaping public space. It gives children real opportunities to feel ownership, connection and pride in where they live.

Every child deserves safe, welcoming places to play. Days like this show how powerful and achievable that can be.

Next Thursday we are hosting Silvia’s Mexican Kitchen at Common Bean Cafe.

For the second time, we are welcoming a local resident as a guest chef, and this round, our longtime friend Silvia is cooking up a delicious spread of Mexican dishes. Swipe to see the menu! 

📅 Thursday 23 April
⏰ From 10am until sold out
📍 Common Bean Cafe, Kangan Institute

All Banksia Gardens locations will be closed for the Easter public holidays: Good Friday (3 April) and Easter Monday (6 April).

We will resume regular hours on Tuesday 7 April.





[Image Description: A blue background with white text which reads “Easter holiday operating hours. We will be closed: Good Friday, 3 April. Easter Monday, 6 April’. Below there are large bunny wears and the Banksia Gardens logo.]

Our Kick’N’Mix program continues to be one of our most popular sports spaces for young people.

Every week, between 20 to 40 teens come together for soccer, volleyball and basketball, while building friendships and their confidence. As our coach Ramadan Aldanaf shared, many participants come back because they find peers who speak their language, share their culture, and make them feel !welcome.

“They can come together and play with kids from a similar culture, and they feel like they’re home.”

Kick'N'Mix is a partnership with Brotherhood of St. Laurence Centre for Multicultural Youth (CMY) Hume Youth Services

🔗 Read the full article here:

How the ‘beautiful game’ is helping teens connect and find their footing The Kick ‘N’ Mix program helps teens form friendships through sport. It’s one of six community programs aiming to stop violence and aggression at schools through cultural activities.