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Getting it up and running

An overview of admin & project management steps required to bring a BACKYARD to life.

Setup timeline​​

 

Now that all these bits and pieces have been considered, let's map out a loose and optimistic timeline and loose budget for setting up a BACKYARD:​

​

APPROX $

Select site

  • Initial community outreach

  • Confirm site suitability

  • Confirm land use approvals

0-6 months

Site preparation

  • Rip up lawns

  • Prepare soil organically

    • Plant ground-breaking and nitrogen-fixing cover crops

    • Mulch

    • Begin compost collection

Site study

  • Environmental consultation

  • Site analysis - soil, drainage, water, solar and wind conditions

Sketch design

  • Sketch landscape design

  • Sketch facilities design

  • Pre-selection of suitable plants

6-12 months

Community consultation

  • Interim community outreach and consultation meetings to discuss:

    • Landscape design

    • Facility designs

    • Events preferences

    • Food crop preferences

    • EOI for Caretakers

Caretaker recruitment

  • Hire and train Caretakers

Finalise design

  • Final landscape and facility design

  • Development approvals

Construction

  • Project programming

  • Procure materials

  • Contract builders and labourers

  • Construct/renovate facilities

12-24 months

Landscape installation

  • Install pathways, irrigation, pond, playgrounds, seats, bins, compost

  • Plant plants

  • Mulch

24 months

Organise opening event

  • Invite community members to see the space and meet the Caretakers

  • Invite feedback and ideas

APPROX TOTAL $

5K

40K

5K

10K

5K

200K

10K

400K

300K

5K

1M

Policies

Each governing council body needs to create a set of base policies for all BACKYARDS as part of the program's operational structure.​ Then, from this baseline, the local community can discuss and decide on location-specific policies for their own BACKYARD.

 

Baseline policy topics​

  • Accessibility

  • Health and safety

  • Maintenance standards

  • Budget

  • Caretaker contracts

  • Public liability insurance

  • Insurance for facilities and tools

  • Security and surveillance

  • Incident reporting

  • Damage, vandalism and theft

  • Severe weather protocols

  • Chemical use

  • Water runoff management

Local community policy topics

  • Operating days/times

  • Noticeboard use/Advertising

  • Harvesting

  • Events

    • Acceptable types

    • Acceptable noise levels

    • Starting/finishing times

    • Bump in/out times

    • Capacity

    • Ticketing

    • Indoor vs. outdoor options

    • ​How many bookings allowed per person per week

Budgets

This discussion of budget/costs is generalised, loosely estimated, intended for initial thinking.

Of course, all budgets will need to be estimated in a lot more detail, using up-to-date quotes for materials and services. But just to get the ball rolling, here are some costs to consider:​

​

Setup costs (one-off)

​​

  • Project management

    • Administration

    • Policies and budgets

    • Caretaker training ​

    • Community outreach

    • Community consultation

    • Ecology consultation

  • Landscape design

  • Architectural design

  • Site preparation

    • Lawn removal​

    • Soil remediation

    • Waste disposal​​​

​

  • Landscaping

    • Plants​

    • Trellises/supports

    • Tools and supplies

    • Labour

    • Pathway surfacing

    • Irrigation system

    • Playground

    • Pond

    • Bins

    • Seats

    • Compost station​

  • ​​Facilities construction​​

APPROX $1M

Operational costs (ongoing)

​

  • Caretaker salaries

    • (refer awards for Parks & Gardens, Horticulturists, Rangers, Administrative Officers, Council Officers)

  • Plants & mulch

  • Tool supply & maintenance

  • Facility supplies

  • Water

  • Electricity

  • Internet

  • Waste collection

  • Insurances​

​

APPROX $300K/Y

Some initial setup costs could even be sponsored by keen local businesses, like nurseries, landscape construction suppliers, etc.

Caretakers

Every BACKYARD will be managed by salaried employees: the Caretakers. Volunteers are welcome for specific events, but BACKYARDS shouldn't rely on volunteers for daily operations.

​​​

Caretakers should be hired from a pool of horticultural professionals within the local community. 

They will be employed by the council body that oversees the BACKYARDS program. Community members should have a way to contact this body directly, to give feedback or report issues anonymously.

​​​

They will need to undertake specific training for the BACKYARDS modality. This could include collaboration with local horticultural education groups, for example:

CERES Urban Farmer Workshop

CERES Creating Wild Edible Ecosystems Workshop

​​​​

​Caretakers need to be skilled across hands-on horticulture, organic gardening, basic administration, and grounds and facility cleaning, as they will be responsible for a variety of tasks:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Garden maintenance

General horticultural and landscaping maintenance, including planting, pruning, fertilising, watering, harvesting, mulching, tidying pathways, turning compost

Cleaning

Cleaning and resupplying facility building and bathrooms, emptying garbage bins throughout gardens, maintaining equipment and tools

Office administration

Managing event bookings, updating social media pages, calendars, and noticeboards with upcoming events. Responding to emails and comments on social media.  Ordering supplies.

Being present

Walking around the gardens throughout the day,

observing and being present. Identifying issues and providing assistance quickly.

Community leading

Organising and chairing community meetings and volunteer events, following up any discussed actions.

​​

There should be a minimum of two Caretakers per site - some tasks need extra hands, and the extended operating hours require two shifts. Whether more than two are needed will depend on the size of the gardens/how much work is required to maintain them.

​

Since they are skilled across everything, Caretakers can share their workload, have a mix of indoor and outdoor work, without getting tired of either, and keeping things varied and interesting. They can take time off without worry, since their coworkers are also skilled across the board, and they can easily teach new employees and volunteers.

​

As an example, here are some shift options:

​Caretaker shifts
 
Example 1: Mixed

 

Here, both Caretakers participate in various tasks each day, keeping it interesting daily.

​

6am-10am

Garden care

MORNING SHIFT

11am-1pm

Office admin

1pm-2pm

Cleaning

1pm-5pm

Garden care

AFTERNOON SHIFT

6pm-8pm

Office admin

8pm-9pm

Cleaning

 
Example 2: Rotation

 

Here, Caretakers have either morning or afternoon shifts with specific associated tasks.

They then rotate their shifts every few weeks, so both get to develop their skills across all tasks and get longer breaks in their workload.

​

MORNING SHIFT

AFTERNOON SHIFT

6am-2pm

Garden care

1pm-8pm

Office work

8pm-9pm

Cleaning

© BACKYARDS

Last updated September 2026

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