Alphington Community Centre is delighted to partner with Melbourne Farmers Markets to deliver ‘grow local, cook local’ a series of seasonal workshops that link the things you can easily grow in your home garden, with fun, delicious and yummy food you and your family can cook every day.

In each workshop you will get the chance to explore the key ingredient(s), chat to experts and share the joy of cooking locally grown food … and then eat it together.

Our winter series runs through the July school holidays and includes 5 workshops each with a different theme (honey, microgreens, mushrooms, winter herbs and winter greens). This series is suitable for people of all ages, and in school holidays is deliberately family friendly (for children 7+ years of age). Please note that children must be accompanied by a participating adult (who is expected to actively supervise them throughout the workshop). Also note that due to COVID restrictions total numbers are limited to 10 people per session.

Tickets cost $15. The workshops will run from the commercial kitchen onsite at Alphington Community Farmgate on the corner of Yarana Road and Wingrove Street (just down the road from us).

This grow local, cook local workshop series is kindly supported through a sustainability grant from the City of Yarra.

Honey, Honey

10am-11.30am, Monday 28 June.

This family friendly workshop will explore honey and urban beekeeping, an increasingly popular interest in our local area.

In the kitchen we’ll be making honey joys and muesli bars together and exploring other honey recipes.

We’ll pop over to The Practical Beekeeper to inspect all the equipment, have a look at hives and find out more about keeping bees in inner city areas.

Teeny Gardens for Tiny Homes

10-11.30am, Tuesday 6 July.

No home is too small for a garden! Just because you have moved into an apartment doesn’t mean you can’t grow your own food. In this workshop Farmwall will introduce you to microgreens and sprouts.

We’ll explore ways to use them in every day cooking and we’ll cook a yummy soup together, that is garnished with sprouts, breadcrumbs and a crunchy topping.

You’ll take home some seeds sown in a pot.

Marvellous Mushrooms

10-11.30am, Wednesday 7 July.

Keen to explore the world of mushrooms? This family workshop will start with a tour of The Mushroomery to see how mushrooms grow.

Whilst there we’ll pick some mushrooms and take them to the kitchen to cook delicious mushroom tacos - you can add whatever toppings they like.

You’ll have the opportunity to purchase mushrooms plus mushroom growing kits from The Mushroomery on the day.

Chive Talking

10-11.30am, Thursday 8 July.

This workshop will explore how to use simple winter herbs that are straightforward to grow in any home garden.

It will include a tour of the Alphington Community Farmgate garden to look at what is in season.

Along the way we’ll pick chives and spring onion tips and head into the kitchen to making some delicious dumplings (using wonton wrappers).

Green Snacks

4-5.30pm, Wednesday 14 July.

Have you thought about using the winter greens that you can easily grow at home in school snacks?

This after school family workshop will start with a walk around the Alphington Community Farmgate site to check out the gardens and discuss what is in season.

Along the way we’ll pick some leafy greens such as sorrel, silverbeet and kale. Then we’ll head into the kitchen to whip up some cheesy green pastry triangles … along with some kale chips. Yum.

Did you know that we have a Toy Library at ACC? We’re noticing that there are increased numbers of people around the neighbourhood living a life that is more family friendly with flexible hours and working from home options. And as a result we’re also noticing that our Toy Library use is growing every week. We’ve welcomed at least 10 new families to the Toy Library over the last month or two and it is so wonderful to think that all those great toys that have been carefully collected and lovingly cared for, for so many years, are getting an outing!

If you know any young families who might like to access a wide range of toys in a sustainable way (ie. borrowing them for up to a month rather than buying them) then point them in our direction.

The Alphington Toy Library costs $30 per year to join (a bargain). Families can borrow up to 4 toys at a time. And we have loads of toys to borrow!

We’re also building up some toy packs that can be booked online and collected any time we are open - ideal for families that can’t pop in and browse themselves. Working families can keep an eye out for these - coming any day now!

Our Toy Library is generally open on Wednesday mornings from 10am-12pm. The opening time coincides with Playtime in the Garden - so you can borrow toys and then also hang out here enjoying our sandpit and some outside craft activities (set up weekly by Lee).

Click here to find out more and/or to join up. Or pop past on a Wednesday to see if it is for you!

Did you know we have a Lego Club here at ACC on a Monday night after school? It’s pretty great for Lego obsessed kids. Cat sets a challenge each week and they spend around an hour building and creating.

And she’s also running a school holiday program in week one of the upcoming holidays.

If you have a child or grandchild who might be interested in joining in then contact Cat here.

Here’s some work from a couple of weeks ago.

This term our garden is open for young families to come and have a play on Wednesday mornings from 10am-12pm.

We’ve got the sandpit open, the toys out, ride-ons at the ready and some crafty activities set up.

If you’re looking for a change from the local park you can pop past with a coffee from the cafe, or an icy pole from the milkbar, and make yourself at home.

At ACC we offer a number of great things for young families.

On Mondays we have a Czech and Slovak Playgroup. So … if you have a Czech or Slovak background (or know a young family who does) you might like to think about joining/recommending this playgroup - a fun and friendly group of families that come along each week to share language, lunch and life. Find our more and join up here.

Lego Club is an after school activity for primary school aged children running on Mondays again this year. Cat runs this fabulous structured program that has a clear focus each week, such as building a bridge or a house. She brings along the right Lego for the project and documents the wonderful creations for each child - so that even though the hard work is sadly dismantled, it can be remembered for ever! If you have a child who loves Lego this could be just the program you are looking for. Email Cat at learnitprograms@gmail.com to find out more.

On Tuesday mornings we offer a MyTime Peer Support Playgroup. This playgroup is led by the very kind-hearted, generous and caring Sue Lenzi, who is a social worker and counsellor. It is linked in with Downs Syndrome Victoria, and any and all families are welcome to attend, but it is particularly great for families needing extra support, as Sue is there for a regular chat and can help you along the way with whatever you need. It is ideal for parents with post natal depression, families with English as a second language, families that are managing young children with disabilities etc. To facilitate conversational opportunities with Sue this playgroup has the extra assistance of Gianna, who is the playgroup assistant. She sets out activities and keeps the kids occupied. Sounds like something you (or someone you know) could be interested in? Find out more and/or book in here.

On Wednesdays this year we are opening up our yard for casual drop in community Playtime in the Garden from 10am-12pm. Families are invited to come along by themselves or with friends and use our sandpit and mud kitchen etc. As we progress and get more organised we’ll have some weekly activities out for families to help themselves to. Grab a coffee next door and make the most of our secure play spaces (note we are in the middle or renovating our front garden, but we’re expecting it to be open and fully operational early March) or sit out on the corner and keep your kids entertained with our chalk drawing box.

And then we have our Toy Library open at the same time as Playtime in the Garden. So you can pop in and borrow toys. Note we’re just in the process of rejigging this service, and thinking of putting together some packs that can be reserved online. We’ll keep you updated on how this pans out.

On Thursdays the very lovely Maimi hosts 2 wonderful Japanese Kilin Playgroups. These playgroups are (as the name suggests) run in Japanese and are quite structured with songs, books, written exercises, cooking and activities for children. From the office it looks and sounds like the kids have a great time! If you are keen to find out more email maimiclass@gmail.com.

And … we’re open to more ideas. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you are part of a playgroup needing a new home, or if you are looking for a place to run after-school kids activities. We’re always keen on building the services we offer the young families in our community!