Putting the hen in Henley

The story of the Happy Hens social enterprise that has turned a Henley bowling green into so much more than a city garden.

WORDS NICOLA RICHES

Sitting in the space between Victoria Road and the Parramatta River at Henley is a pocket of civic amenity. At the heart, the Community Centre with bowling greens and an unrivalled view of the city skyline, and just close by Gladesville Reserve; the non-profit, State-funded Riverside Pre-School and the buildings that house the local community radio station 2RRR.

Walking around it you get a simultaneous sense of nostalgia for a time when places like these were abundant, and what is possible - what our city future could look like if places like these were restored in every suburb. Nestled among this is the Henley Green Community Garden, run by the Happy Hens Social Enterprise.

Worn pathways circle vegepods, skirt alongside vegetable and herb beds, and lead you to old greenkeeper sheds that have been spruced up with recycled materials. A succulent garden, wooden tables to gather at least 30 people under umbrellas, chicken coops for the real Happy Hens of the garden and bursts of colour at every turn, it stands in stark contrast to the bustling city that surrounds it – just like urban farms across the world.

Founders and crew in the garden

Henley Green Community Garden was inspired by city farms such as Mudchute that opened in London in 1977 when the urban sprawl intensified and denied residents access to greenery. As Sydney expanded, blueprints such as Mudchute became a good reference point and Happy Hens founders Helen Kirkman, Emma Paxton and Nicole Miranda could see how their application could benefit those in Henley, Gladesville, Hunters Hill and beyond.

The Happy Hens met when their children attended Gladesville Public School. Helen and Nicole shared a mutual love for gardening and permaculture, while Emma, who jokes that growing plants doesn’t come quite as easy to her, was happy to literally lend a hand to her friends with physical labour. Turns out she’s also a dab hand at administration, accounts and grant applications. Henley was not this trio’s first rodeo.

“We began the Bedlam Bay Community Garden in June 2017 with land assistance from National Parks and Wildlife and financial support from Hunters Hill Council,” explains Emma. “With hard work from the core group, plus weekend working bees with community, the garden thrived for all to enjoy.”

However, before too long the community and core group realised that Bedlam was not big enough for the needs of local residents. At that time, Happy Hens comprised many willing community members, but with a small space that could only operate on Friday morning, there was no scope for full participation.

As local residents themselves, Emma, Helen and Nicole knew about the bowling greens and the bigger space at Henley Community Centre and started to visualise how they could put the hen in Henley.

Early rough sketches of their plans included not just an orchard and kitchen garden, but other initiatives such as a café/place for coffee, a centre for restaurants and cafes to recycle food waste and coffee grounds, markets and exhibitions, sustainability workshops, intergenerational social events, community group support and more.

The site fit the bill in myriad ways: accessible by bus, ferry and car; centrally located for city and regional access; existing, practical infrastructure and little requirement for a substantial financial injection to get the plants and veg off the ground. “We received funding from Hunters Hill Council in 2018 to buy materials for raised garden beds,” explains Emma. “We collected large pieces of cardboard. We arranged delivery of woodchip mulch from local arborists happy to deposit their load for free. We gathered coffee grounds and husks from local cafes and pony poo from Randwick Racecourse to mix with the composting woodchips.”

Foraging, reusing, repurposing, renovating, collecting – it all stands at the heart of the Happy Hens mission, and with this comes a purpose to give back.

Members, of which there are currently around 50 paid (membership only costs $60 per year to mainly cover insurance), share the duties of working on the garden, which then gives them a share in the harvest. Visitors are welcome to take a leaf or two, or some herbs for a meal. If excess produce is available, the Enterprise approaches locals in need to see if they would like it.

The Enterprise gives back to the community in other countless ways too. The Coffee Project began in August 2020 inspired by two local teenagers, Huon and Emily. Due to COVID-19 restrictions they were doing Uni online from home and felt socially isolated. Huon’s passion for coffee and Emily’ desire to learn barista skills sparked the idea for The Happy Hens’ Coffee Project. The Happy Hens sponsored them to attend professional training by Seven Miles Coffee and now they volunteer their time to provide excellent coffee to all who visit Helen Green Community Garden – everyone is welcome to purchase fantastic barista coffee and enjoy the garden space. Coffee is available between 8:00am to midday every Friday morning.

Barista made coffee, anyone?

Then there has been the launch of the Henley Growers Market that goes beyond a market to include a community engagement program. For example, musicians from Riverside High School performed at the event and Gladesville Public School used it to sell their Cookbook ‘2111’. The Hunters Hill Historical Society uses it as a place for meetings, and it was also the location earlier this year for the first intergenerational event in the suburb when a seniors’ group from Sydney Community Services came to meet some of the kids from Riverside pre-school and show them some decades-old artefacts that are commonly out of use these days.

Intergenerational event with Riverside Pre-School and Sydney Community Services

The Happy Hens are keen to highlight how the word ‘happy’ wasn’t chosen haphazardly. A commitment to improving people’s mental health is very much part of the garden’s purpose. A tie-up with the Black Dog Institute is coming down the line, as are plans for ‘R U OK?’ day.

The produce and the visual aesthetic alone can help lift people’s spirits. Even a Happy Hens update from December last year is tribute to the positivity and delight that comes from the garden: “Okra, yacon, artichoke, Jerusalem artichoke, basil, chives and little capsicums are thriving, tomato plants are growing rapidly, and we are currently harvesting the yummy strawberries in rows. The corn and zucchini have produced abundant crops,” it said.

It is certainly a different picture to the sterile aisle of fruit and veg in the local supermarket. Take this for potato news: “The seed potatoes have been super successful. Each kilo we planted produced over 6kg. We now know purple congo is very starchy, red norland and brake light were firm and tasty, spunta/nadine/pink-eye were tender, and royal blue was our favourite!” How many of us even knew that purple congo was a type of potato?

If you’re intrigued to know more about potatoes (we certainly were!), or you’re keen to sip a cup of the finest coffee with a view of Sydney to die for, or if you feel like giving some of your time to become a member or volunteer (we’re told members can take home quite a bit of produce…), then perhaps pop along to the Henley Community Garden for their summer market on Sunday 5th December from 9:00am to 1:00pm.

One of the Happy Hens mantras is: “We hope to help make Gladesville, Hunters Hill, Ryde, and beyond, engaging, enjoyable and sustainable places to live, especially in our beautiful outdoor public spaces.” Pop along and see for yourself what makes this place so very special.