Get Involved

Join Us

         Join the many other Ballarat residents and schools who are providing more opportunities for wildlife to live in their gardens.

Sign up to our email list to receive an occasional newsletter, invitations to our workshops and upcoming events (local and elsewhere) and 

learn more from experts and meet other enthusiastic wildlife gardeners. Send us an email gardens4wildlifeballarat@gmail.com 

Garden Visits

We are not in the position to offer free gardens visits at the moment. We need more volunteers. 

Please let us know if you would like to be trained as a garden guide. (See the outline below on what guides do). 

Currently we are running a few workshops a year to support gardeners to get started rather than providing individual visits. 

Please follow us on social media or read more on our website to get ideas for your garden if you want to start making an impact right now.

Become a financial member

In late 2023 our steering committee decide to form an incorporated group 

(Gardens for Wildlife Ballarat Incorporated A0121075L). 

This allows us to raise funds through membership and other means, to cover insurance 

and other expenses, such as this website. We will also be able to apply for grants for special projects. 

We invite you to take the next step and become a member with voting rights and other benefits. 

Current membership for the 2024 financial year is set at $25 per household. Email us for a membership form

Another way to support us 

Donate your cans and bottles!

Gardens for Wildlife Ballarat is one of many charities and volunteer community organisations 

hoping to raise funds through Victoria’s new Container Deposit Scheme. We would really appreciate your support.

Get Ready - set up the App:

 Download the CDS Vic West App onto your phone and register to create your account.

 Click on Charites on the App home page then search Gardens for Wildlife Ballarat.

 You’ll be able to read about us and then select Set as payout.

You can change your preferred charity at any time and as often as you wish.

Go - Deposit and Donate:

Each time you go to a machine to deposit eligible containers

 first open the CDS Vic West App and scan your barcode at the machine.

 When you have finished depositing, press Transfer on the machine

Your donation will automatically appear in the G4WB bank account and will help improve local

biodiversity by supporting community-focused gardening for wildlife education, training and hands-on, practical workshops.

We’re aiming to collect $1000 in donations during 2024 so start collecting and depositing! Using the

CDS is simple, fun and a great way to make small change into a big change!

Volunteer Garden Visitors 

We are currently encouraging more people to be volunteer garden guides/visitors.  Our existing guides will provide an initial information session then ongoing training. New volunteers are paired with more experienced volunteers for the garden visits. This is one of the most sort after activities in our program.

Volunteers need to be interested in gardening, willing to learn about what wildlife need in a garden and to love talking to others and sharing gardening ideas and hints. Garden visitors go in pairs to the garden and the visit takes about an hour.  Sometimes longer if there is a lot to discuss. One guide usually takes notes and photos and the other leads the discussion. We share ideas and information. it helps to have a vehicle or to be paired with a someone who has a vehicle, as we travel all over the City of Ballarat.

We learn a lot from other gardeners by seeing what they do in their gardens and exchanging ideas and experiences. We are not providing a garden design service but a sharing and exchanging ideas and information on how to begin the journey to making gardens more friendly for wildlife. 

Training involves learning about the elements that make up a wildlife garden, indigenous plants and local wildlife, nest boxes and bee hotels, frog habitat and lots more. 

A small report is provided to the gardener a few weeks after the visit, which is a basic record of the visit and some of the ideas presented. It greatly assists to have access to a computer for report writing and to research additional information you may like to provide to gardeners. You may also like to write short articles for our newsletters.

Our guides are also invited to assist at workshops, displays and events.

The plants we hand out at events and workshops are grown locally by volunteers in the City of Ballarat Indigenous Plant Nursery, in Gillies Street, Wendouree. We sincerely thank the City of Ballarat for their ongoing support for our program. Why not volunteer to grow plants at the nursery, as it is a great way to learn about local plants?

Register your interest by sending us an email  gardens4wildlifeballarat@gmail.com