On paper the community garden concept looks unremarkable, simply a series of garden beds made from treated pine and a covered working area; it is only when you listen to Sean Ploder and Brendan Moore speak of their goals for the garden that you glimpse the vision that the Taree Community Garden is to be more than the sum of its parts - it will be so much more than timber, soil and seeds.

Taree Community Garden is growing without one seed having been planted in soil, it is flourishing under the nurturing hand of Bree Katsamangos of RichmondPRA.

The garden is nestled on a block of land in Wynter Street opposite the entrance to Aldi and Novaskill workers are currently building garden beds and a covered working area.

Sean and Brendan are excited by the progress of building work and by the possibilities for education and cultivation of community for Aboriginal children and their families in the Manning Valley.

The Royal Botanic Gardens Community Greening Outreach Program delivered Brendan's skill set to the project and last week he visited Taree to "help develop the bush tucker garden and give them support with anything that they may need with the veggie garden, herb garden or bush tucker garden."

Brendan said he was happy to travel and Sean said he would glean as much knowledge as he could from him as they worked to bring the bush tucker garden to life.

Sean is the Taree Indigenous Development Employment (TIDE) Parent and Community Engagement (PaCE) program co-ordinator. It's a big title and Sean has set some big goals to achieve for his community.

He said that when he heard of Taree Community Garden, he made the call to get involved and would now work to engage Chatham High School students and students from a few primary schools.

"This garden will be used for workshops that will get kids familiar with their native foods, some local language and hopefully it will get them to school and over time, hopefully help with their health," Sean said.

"We are looking for school attendance rates to improve and for community members and parents to be involved in the garden. We are trying to build a bridge that will see parents and the Aboriginal community be more involved with schools in the area.

"The Taree Community Garden is a way to bring communities and people together. When things are on school grounds, some parents are reluctant to go onto those grounds; whereas a community space doesn't have a school attached to it and hopefully this will see us get a lot more parents involved."

Brendan said he was confident the garden would inspire and educate Aboriginal children and their families and also the broader community.

"Bush tucker is all around us. I call it bush tucker but it's more than bush tucker, it has medicinal use, edible use and you can also make tools and weapons," Brendan explained.

"The grevillea has a sweet nectar that you can dip in water and have a refreshing drink, you can also put it into a salad, you can also put it into a damper, muffins or cakes.

"The gymea lily stem is edible and the roots you can remove and put into hot coals and they taste like a starchy potato.

"This will be an educational garden and I am happy to work for these guys for as long as they need me. We are all about working with the community and other agencies. We are here to support these programs and we want the community to be involved."