Labor councillors are pushing for the urban agriculture officer role to be axed,with one saying the council had already wasted almost half a million dollars on it.
But they are facing a storm of protest from scores of residents who want the position kept,and who argue the messages councils like Yarra regularly promote about"sustainability"are meaningless unless they are backed by proper support.
At a special budget meeting at Fitzroy Town Hall on Wednesday,councillors will hear from residents imploring them to keep the part-time position (half of the $100,000 funding goes on wages,the other half on helping people establish gardens).
The role has helped create community gardens at the Richmond public housing estate and elsewhere,and helped residents develop laneway and street gardens.
The issue of pop-up gardens heated up earlier this year when Yarra Council ripped out athriving green oasis residents had created in a North Carlton lane. The push to remove the garden followed lobbying by local identity Tony Khoury,who wanted to be able to drive a car down the lane.
Greens councillor Sam Gaylard points out there are waiting lists of up to five years for a community garden plot in the area. He says inner-city locales like Yarra – which covers suburbs including Fitzroy,Richmond and Carlton – don't have the large backyards of the middle and outer suburbs.