Dampier community garden gates officially open as Santa books his first visit

Green gates welcoming visitors and residents to the community garden are now what stand out as you travel through Dampier.

Dampier Community Association president Gill Furlong and Rio Tinto Dampier port and marine general manager Tim McDougall officially opened the new community garden for all to enjoy on Thursday.

Before cutting the ribbon, Ms Furlong said the making of the community garden was a collaborative effort.

Volunteers from Rio Tinto, Reece Plumbing, Leethall Construction, Barfield Landscaping, Volunteer WA, Scope Properties, DML Contracting, Karratha Earthmoving & Sand Supplies, and Red Dog Works were among those who helped bring garden to life.

“It is a really exciting project that we embarked on about five years ago,” she said.

“This is an open space whether you live here temporarily or full-time — come, sit, and garden.”

The garden has an emphasis on sustainability using a lot of recyclable materials, industrial waste, and making it waterwise.

The garden beds were donated for the project, while the sheeting came from the old Dampier shopping centre.

“History is important to me, so to have the sheeting from the shopping centre, it means there is a little bit of Dampier here,” Ms Furlong said.

Dampier will be holding Christmas festivities on the last day of school at the community garden at 3 High Street.

Families can head down from 4.30pm on Thursday, December 15, and children might even get a glimpse of Santa.