Gardener in community garden

What is Grow It Local?

Grow It Local is a community initiative to encourage more people to grow, share and eat locally grown foods. The City of Rockingham is one of the first local governments to proudly support the initiative and we are encouraging local growers to "put their patch on the map" on the Grow It Local websiteopens in a new windowopens in a new windowopens in a new windowopens in a new window.

Register your patch, outline what’s growing and highlight whether you’re interested in connecting with other local growers to share or sell your produce, knowledge, space or skills. Likewise, aspiring growers can log on, see what’s growing locally, connect with experts and get inspired.  

Want to learn more about Grow It Local in Rockingham? Call us on 9528 0333opens in a new windowopens in a new windowopens in a new windowopens in a new window or email customer@rockingham.wa.gov.au for more information. If you would like to know more about upcoming workshops please see below or check out the City's What's On page.

Grow It Local Awards 2025

Grow it Local Award logo.The 2025 Grow it Local Awards are open from 20 January - 16 February 2025. The awards are a celebration of the passion and creativity of the home food growing community. This is the fifth consecutive year these major national gardening awards have been running.

Award categories include:

  1. The ‘Why I Love My Patch’ Award
  2. Homegrown Harvest Award
  3. Australia’s Best Chicken Name
  4. Local Grower Award (new)
  5. Australia’s Wonkiest Vegetable
  6. Patch People

How to enter

  • Post a photo on Instagram or Facebook.
  • Tag @growitlocal and use the hashtag #GrowItLocalAwards2025 in your caption, along with the award category you are entering.
  • For entries into the ‘Local Grower Award’ category, please also mention which local council area you live in.

Winners will be announced on Friday 28 February 2025.

Frequently asked questions about Grow It Local

Who is it for?

Grow It Local is for everyone! The program encourages the whole community to get involved. It’s for green thumbs and food growers, sustainability enthusiasts, new and small-scale gardeners, local businesses, schools, community gardens and local groups to connect, share skills, produce, space and more.

Why get involved?

There are many reasons to get involved in Grow It Local.

  • See who and what’s growing locally.
  • Connect with local growers and food lovers.
  • Host or attend workshops and events.
  • Share produce, seeds and seedlings.
  • List unused space for growing.
  • Help inspire the next generation of growers.
How do I get involved?

Getting involved is easy!

Simply head to the Grow It Local websiteopens in a new windowopens in a new windowopens in a new windowopens in a new window and "put your patch on the map".

Once you are signed up you can see who and what is growing locally, connect with local growers and food lovers, explore opportunities to join a local community garden or simply get some great tips about growing food locally.

When you are on the website simply click on 'search' then explore the drop down categories to find local produce and foods, experiences and workshops, seeds and seedlings and products and services.

No patch? No worries!

Start by checking out the Grow It Local Facebookopens in a new windowopens in a new windowopens in a new windowopens in a new window page where there are plenty of great ideas and videos to get you inspired. The Grow It Local team has put together a series of videos to inspire and share knowledge so keep an eye out on their Facebook page for upcoming live online events.

If you are a local community group and want to be involved, we would love to hear from you.  Please call us on 9528 0333 or email customer@rockingham.wa.gov.au for more information.

Grow It Local Seed Service

Please be advised the seed service registration is full for 2024 and no further seed packs are available. Examples of seed packages available through the seed service. 

What is the local free see service?

The Grow It Local Free Seed Service is a patch-to-plate adventure curated by Paul West (River Cottage Australia, ABC) that delivers free organic seeds and accompanying how-to-videos directly to eligible residents in participating council areas.

Who is it for?

The Grow It Local Free Seed Service is available to first-time members who register with Grow It Local. Numbers are limited and are free for residents, schools, community groups and local businesses who are not already Grow It Local members. 

Do members need a garden to participate?

No, the seeds provided are also suitable for growing in pots. Grow It Local encourages growers to get involved whether that space available is on a window sill, balcony, verge garden, courtyard or full-blown backyard. It is recommended participants select a spot with four-six hours of sunshine a day.

What does the Seed Service include?

Each of the seasonal Seed Service range releases includes:

  • Three seasonal organic seed packs delivered direct to your doorstep.
  • Access to the Grow-along Dashboard where members will receive start-to-finish guidance on how to grow and cook their produce, synced from the moment you plant your seeds.
  • The Grow-along content will cover each aspect of the growing stage, including plant origins, health and nutritional info, growing tips, harvesting recommendations and recipes from Australia’s best chefs.
  • Access to Grow It Local's in-house gardening expert who will provide residents with one-on-one gardening advice throughout the journey.

How does it work?

Registration for the Free Seed Service will be announced in spring each year.

Upon registration, residents will be provided with three months of free access to the Grow-along Dashboard. Once registrations close, Grow It Local will distribute the free seed packs to those who have successfully registered.

The seed service registration for spring 2024 is now full and no further seed packs are available.

Want to access free webinars and online workshops and join the City of Rockingham community of over 1000 hobby gardeners? Registrations to join the online platform is open all year long.

What does it cost?

Thanks to the support of the City of Rockingham, the program is free for residents to sign up and participate in. We will be running workshops throughout the year which will be free of charge.

Grow It Local members may choose to charge a fee for their skill or knowledge sharing services, produce or homemade products.

Why is the City involved?

Grow It Local is one of a number of City initiatives designed to encourage positive sustainable living behaviours and food systems, facilitate community building, and support waste education and organic waste diversion from landfill. We will be working closely with local community stakeholders to ensure the Grow It Local program is meeting the expectations of the community.

Local community gardens

Learn more about our community gardens on our Local Environmental Groups page.

Events and workshops

Head to our What's On Calendar to learn about upcoming events.

What's On Calendar

Learn more

Hear from Grow It Local Ambassador Costa

Grow it Local logo

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