As the Bendigo Garden for the Future was officially opened on Sunday, Jane Cleary thought of a Greek proverb.
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“A civilisation flourishes when citizens plant trees under which they will not sit.”
The $4.6 million Garden for the Future is the embodiment of that proverb.
Ms Clearly, who is a founding member of Friends of the Bendigo Botanic Garden, has been waiting for this project to come to fruition for 20 years.
“You can't imagine what it’s like,” she said. “This is a realisation of something that has been going on for 20 years.
“That's when it started, when council purchased land in the early ‘90s, when they were still city of Bendigo.”
Since then plans for the extension of the Bendigo Botanic Garden were pushed to and from the back burner.
In 2009, plans for the garden were officially unveiled. It took another nine years for funding to be raised and the work to be completed on stage one of the development.
“When I take people through the heritage gardens, we look back to city's fathers who planted gardens (in 1857),” Ms Cleary said.
“We're now getting the benefit of that. It is that Greek proverb. Now we are planting for and looking to the the future. It's a very important issue.”
Friends of the Bendigo Botanic Gardens and the Bendigo Northern District Community Enterprise each contributed $20,000.
The City of Greater Bendigo put in $3.56 million of funding while the state government contributed $1 million.
But it was more than financial contributions from community groups and branches of government.
City of Greater Bendigo mayor Margaret O’Rourke said people from council and the community literally dug in for the project.
“People love to help, not just staff but also the community helped plant (this garden),” she said.
“The wider community has pitched in to help (put in) 30,000 plantings from all of the world.
“You see from all the people here today, it is important to the community to have this beautiful open space that complements the Botanic Gardens.
“It is a very proud, exciting and satisfying moment.”
Cr O’Rourke also recognised the work of former councillors and councils in the development.
“You really do have to recognise all those decisions that were made back then,” she said.
“It was a big commitment for the city but it’s about working with community groups that want to see this come to fruition.”
Stage two of the development will see a visitor information centre and more garden constructed between the new and old gardens.
“There is lots more work to do but we haven’t quite turned our minds to it yet,” Cr O’Rourke said.
“We will look at it in future budgets and be seeking assistance from state and federal governments.
“Large projects like this are difficult for council to do on its own.
Partnerships are wonderful to see and it shows that the community wants ownership in it as well. It is something that can continue into the future.”