With heartfelt sadness, we share with our Creative Harvest community that our beloved founder, Wendy Savage, passed away on 3rd November 2024 after a long and valiant battle with Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Wendy was a passionate gardener and a visionary. When the Gardivalia open garden event didn’t run in 2018, Wendy, as a foundation member of the Baw Baw Sustainability Network, gathered a group of veggie enthusiasts and launched the very first Creative Harvest.
She aimed to transcend the conventional open garden event by inspiring individuals to cultivate their own food, turning backyards into vegetable gardens and embracing the joy of gardening.
When Wendy’s health required her to step back and concentrate on her treatment, Wendy’s dedication to Creative Harvest never wavered. Her family joined in, helping to open her garden every year as a testament to her love for sharing knowledge and fostering community.
Wendy was also the instigator of the Baw Baw Sustainability’s community kitchen gardens, first behind the Fozigobble Café in Yarragon and then the garden at the Yarragon Hall. She was an active member of the Latrobe Valley Field Naturalists serving as its secretary for twenty-six years from 1993, inspiring members with her commitment to natural history, enthusiasm and leadership of so many club activities and projects.
The environment and sustainability were core to Wendy’s person.
The Creative Harvest and wider Baw Baw Sustainability Network community is deeply saddened, and it will take time to process this loss. But we are committed to carrying on Wendy’s legacy. Creative Harvest is a tribute to her vision - her dream of seeing people in their gardens, growing food, getting their hands dirty, and finding peace and connection in nature.
Wendy’s daughter Ruby Savage has generously established a fundraiser to honour her. Donations will go to the Baw Baw Sustainability Network in her memory.\
