Think your gardening skills are award-winning?
The 2026 Grow it Local Awards are now open, celebrating everyday food growing across Australia, from backyard veggie patches and balcony pots to community, school and even windowsill gardens.
Entry is free and open to gardeners of all experience levels. So, whether you’re proud of your perfectly ripe tomatoes, your crooked carrots or your lovingly named chook, there’s a category for everyone.
Enter before midnight on 15 February for your chance to win national recognition for your gardening skills, plus some new seed packs to get you ready for the next growing season. Plus, each category has its own unique prizes to be won!
Award categories and prizes
There are six fun and creative categories to enter, each with exciting prizes:
- Why I Love My Patch Award
- Homegrown Harvest Award
- Best Chicken Name Award
- Patch to Plate Award
- Wonkiest Vegetable Award
- Local Grower Award*
* The Local Grower Award is judged per council area, with one winner selected from each local government area across Australia. All other categories are judged nationally.
How to enter
To be eligible for the Local Grower Award for the Waverley LGA, residents must:
- Post a photo or video on Instagram or Facebook
- Mention in the caption which award category they are entering
- Tag @waverleycouncil, and also @growitlocal
- Use the hashtag #GrowItLocalAwards2026
Residents without social media can also enter by emailing their photo or video to
communications@waverley.nsw.gov.au.
Each entry must be your original work, and you can submit multiple entries across the available categories, as long as the content is different each time.
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Who can enter?
The awards are open to all Australian food gardeners, no matter how or where you grow:
- Backyards
- Balconies and courtyards
- Community or school gardens
- Windowsills and small spaces
For full details and T&Cs, visit https://growitlocal.com/awards-2026