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THE GARDEN CITY

Since Canberra’s inception as a ‘garden city’, shared green spaces have been key to creating healthy working and living environments across our nation’s capital. Neighbourhood parks were intended as the beating heart of our earliest suburbs where, as the sign in Wakefield Gardens explains, community members could come together and enjoy “healthy fresh air, recreation and contact with nature.”

As our city grows and densifies, we need to remain proactive in cultivating welcoming public spaces beyond home and work where people can connect. An expanding body of evidence shows how important these ‘third places’ are for people’s health and wellbeing.

Greening projects where communities reclaim their shared public spaces are emerging across the ACT, and we believe Wakefield Gardens should be part of this wider renewal. A working group has come together to develop a three-phase proposal for revitalising Wakefield Gardens, and we’re inviting interested locals to get involved. The full proposal is available here.

1. NATIVE GARDEN & URBAN FARM

Renewing the green space itself is a simple yet important first step in the revitalisation of Wakefield Gardens. Community members with relevant skills and interests have proposed a co-designed native garden with urban farming elements on the southern side of the site. The loss of a volunteer-cultivated peace garden on Foveaux Street in early 2025 led affected community members to search for a site on public land for a new garden, and Wakefield Gardens has been identified as a compelling option.

2. COMMUNITY HUB IN DISUSED BUILDING

The building at 91A Wakefield Gardens was home to the Winnunga Aboriginal Health Service until they relocated in 2005, and operated as a maternal and child health clinic for decades before that. It is owned by the ACT Government and zoned for community use, but has now remained vacant for 20 years.

Residents have long wanted to see new life breathed into this community asset, and a recent fire causing extensive damage to the building has left our community asking what’s next.

In June 2025, an Ainslie local put forward a petition calling for the ACT Government to invest in 91A Wakefield Gardens for community use. The petition accrued 634 signatures and, in mid-September, the ACT Government announced it would start community consultation on the future of the site.

Ideas that have been proposed for the building include a sustainable living hub, a home for First Nations service delivery, spaces for creative practices, and shared community facilities. We believe the building could be used for all of these purposes, and potentially more, through a two-storey rebuild where the top floor is allocated to community organisations who serve as head tenants for the building and the ground floor is set aside for community spaces made available for individuals and groups to hire at low-to-no cost.



3. NATURE PLAYGROUND

We know the immense value of intergenerational connection, and new research is constantly emerging detailing the importance of play-based learning to the development of our children. While the existing playground is appreciated, its design is prohibitive for younger children, and we believe a nature playground would be a fantastic addition to bring more families together in Wakefield Gardens. Locals have identified an opportunity for a nature play activation, similar to the nature playground in Haig Park, on the northern side of the site.