26/11/2025
The Balnarring Bush Food Garden is officially opened to the public!
Tuesday morning’s ceremony opened with a acknowledgement to Bunurong country by Barbara Long, Bush Food Garden (BFG) pioneer and (probably) official ambassador (in lieu of guest from The Bunurong Land Council), followed by an introduction to the BFG project and its purpose of community education on traditional owners’ plant customs for food and medicine. There are a few such gardens dotted around the state and now we have our very own in Balnarring.
Balnarring kindie kids attended in abundance and provided energy, magic, and music, singing us a several songs, but came into their own when the gusty winds took the printed recipe sheets to flight which needed to be promptly collected. Handy! but not only that, these are the very same children who helped plant many of the species in the garden. How talented are the kids from Balnarring preschool?!
Recipe sheets? Bush food?
Yes indeed! For the sampling were delicious treats made with bush foods and included: cheese twists with pepper berry and saltbush, chocolate and river mint cupcakes, wattleseed meringues with lemon myrtle cream, and wattleseed scones with rosella jam (rosella being the shrub related to hibiscus and NOT our feathered Australian friend…).
Check out The Native Harvest Kitchen cookbook by Dr. Dorin Gupta from the University of Melbourne for recipes: https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/Recipes-bring-Australias-native-harvest-into-the-kitchen (link for cookbook toward the bottom of page).
Some of our treats were created with Kakadu Plum Co rubs and spices, a local group bringing native foods to the larger market. If you want to sample bush foods but can’t wait for your garden to grow give these guys a go.
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