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stallholders must be involved in a permanent, hands-on capacity in the production of their products, and may only sell their own products
all product must be GM-free or grown/produced with no/minimal chemicals
any produce that is claimed to be organic must be certified organic
the market is plastic bag free: stallholders may not bring or supply new plastic bags (including the bio-bag variety) to customers unless for food regulation requirements
we make ourselves an example of responsible practice and minimal waste - packaging must be recycling code 1, 2 or 3 plastic if possible; alternatives in tasting cups, coffee cups, juice glasses etc such as PET and cornstarch are actively encouraged.

CERES Food Project - a social enterprise turning food into liveihoods

Vacola'd plums, jam and tomato chutney are on the menu this season as the CERES Food Project women preserve the glut from CERES market garden in Melbourne. The preserved foods will be sold through the CERES Organic Market, CERES Cafe and through farmers' markets.

The work is being carried out through the CERES Food Project - a social enterprise made posssible through a partnership between CERES and the Adult Migrant Education Service. Chef and trainer, Rachel Sands, is working with a group of six Turkish women to process seasonal market garden production into jam, chutneys, dips, pickles, dried fruits, sauces and bottled olives.

The idea is to train recent migrants to set up their own small enterprises, making use of locally grown produce. Participants receive an accredited Certificate Two in Kitchen Operations and gain English language skills.

For some participants, the CERES Food Project is their first job since arriving in Australia.

Information: Chris Ennis - 0402 166 015 chris@ceres.org.au

The CERES Food Project crew with produce they have preserved for sale

August 2006...

Funding secured for Edible Schools planning

Cultivating Community (CC) is pleased to announce that it has secured funding from the Victorian Department of Communities and the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC), to develop a business plan and consultation model to engage with schools around developing “Edible Classrooms”. This will involve working collaboratively with The Gould League, Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, Landlearn, Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES) and the Garden of Eden to ensure a more coordinated approach to delivering curriculum support services related to the natural sciences and healthy eating and environmental sustainability

The funding will assist CC in dealing with enquiries from schools interested in developing edible gardens and cooking programs. Once this system is in place it will be trialled at 3 schools in Metro Melbourne including Thornbury Primary School and Laverton Secondary College.

There is an increasing demand from schools for assistance with establishing gardens and healthy eating programs. Edible gardens and garden based activities are seen as vehicles for strengthening school communities. There is a growing body of evidence that they can break down cultural barriers, provide therapeutic benefits to students with learning and behavioural difficulties and address a number of key issues such as: isolation, Victorian Educational Learning Standards, environmental protection, obesity, nutrition and active learning.

This funding is a fantastic success for Cultivating Community’s Innovation Hub. The Hub has been set up with the aim of providing support to CC staff and volunteers wishing to develop ideas, projects that incorporate innovation into CC service delivery or projects which will contribute to the CC vision. Innovation encompasses a broad range of initiatives, and the Hub supports projects that ultimately produce better and more sustainable outcomes for CC and its clients.

Following an initial feasibility study on Edible Classrooms, CC engaged Jan Carr to develop the outline of a business model and to research funding opportunities. Jan worked tirelessly consulting with other groups in the field to explore what was already happening and look at various avenues for funding. Her hard work has finally been rewarded by this announcement.

In October Jan will rejoin the team at CC to develop the business and consultation model. It is hoped that early in 2007 this model will be trialled at 3 schools.

Cultivating Community sees that this project is a wonderful addition to the work that we already carryout in 4 primary schools and a perfect compliment to the relationship that we have with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation. The schools that are currently involved are St Peters Primary in Clayton, Park Hill Primary in Ashwood, Nunawading Primary and Collingwood College.

We are very appreciative of all the groups and individuals that have assisted us and would like to point out the following for special thanks Jan Carr, Thornbury Primary School, Newborough East Primary School, Landlearn,-Department of Primary Industries, Gould League, CERES, Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, Laverton High School, Hobson’s Bay Council, Darebin Council, Garden of Eden and Chris Saray- Spirit of Place Landscape Design and Construction..

If you are interested in this project or any of the other work that we do please contact us on the details below.

Ben Neil, Chief Executive Officer,Cultivating Community, P.O. Box 8 Abbotsford,Victoria 3067. Office: 03 9415 6580 Mobile: 0404 255 317

ARCHIVE - Victoria news

November 2005...

Edible Classroom conference inspires participants

The use of food gardens in education has come of age. What started as a special interest within the Permaculture milieu ten years ago is now mainstream. So much was evident at November 2005's Edible Classroom conference at Collingwood College, Melbourne.

More than 200 participants heard speakers such as author and chef, Staphanie Alexander, Cultivating Community's (a community organisation funded by the state government to assist housing estate gardeners) Ben Neil and Victorian community garden instigator, Basil Natoli, as well as school students and teachers present their ideas on the development of food gardens as educational venues. From interstate came Jacqui Hunter (Hunter Gatherer Designs, Adelaide), Clair Fulton (community gardens network, Adelaide), Leonie Shanahan (community gardens, Noosa), Rebecca Chattelburgh (community and home garden educator, Albury) and Fiona Campbell (local government sustainability educator, Sydney).

Participants visited three school gardens in Melbourne plus the inspirational garden at Collingwood College which was started by Stephanie Alexander and Cultivating Community. A number of the gardens form the basis of a school-based program in which students grow, prepare and cook the food grown in their gardens and eat it at school. Out of their own funds, some schools support a community garden coordinator to work with students. Gardens range in size and in the amount of time students spend in them. Some have chooks. What became clear during the tour of the school gardens was the eagerness of students to work in the gardens.

Jude Fanton, from the Seed Savers Network in Byron Bay, held workshops in seed saving and processing in schools. Carolyn Nuttall, the Brisbane woman who, over a decade ago, sparked the interest in school gardens in education with her book, The Children's Food Forest, provided an informal and inspirational address.

Edible Classrooms was organised by Cultivating Community, which is involved in the starting of school as well as community gardens. For those who stayed on after the conference, there were visits to Veg Out community garden in St Kilda, with its art works and allotments. Veg Out have bottled their third vintage (sauvignon blanc semillon) from their small community vineyard, thanks to help from Yarra Valley vigneron, Red Rock Winery. Brad Shone, from the CERES environmental park in East Brunswick, attended the conference and invited participants to visit CERES with its energy park, aerogenerator, solar-electric arrays, wastewater treatment, schools program, allotment gardens, commercial Permaculture and Bushfoods nursery, cafe, energy and resource efficient house with edible garden - CERES is always worth an afternoon of your time when in Melbourne. Morag Gamble (SEED International/Queensland community gardens team) made a PowerPoint slide show presentation of her tour of ecovillages and community agriculture in Europe and Hong Kong in the CERES seminar room before going on to visit community gardens in Tasmania.

As a follow-on from a convivial Sunday afternoon picnic in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens organised by Jude Fanton, a visit to the Garden’s children’s playground was made possible by Roslyn Semler from Visitor Services, who also attended the conference. The playground features intriguing plantings and installations that provide unstructured playspace in which children are free to use their inmagination. There is a large food garden – herbs, vegetables and a few fruit trees – planted in raised beds.

The Garden of Eden’s Amadis Lechter took a number of visitors to the new Fleminton Community Garden. Garden of Eden assited with getting the garden going and Cultivating Community – the Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network state contact – provides a worker – Ailsa Winfield – to assist gardeners one day a week.

Garden of Eden was at its usual productive, showing how imagination, good design and hard work can convert an old railway station into a blend of cobb oven, mosaic art works, garden beds and educational programmes.

Coming of age

For those that stayed on, the Edible Classroom conference segued into a community gardens tour. This should come as no surprise as the Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network enjoys a close alliance with those working in school gardens - the 2005 national community gardens network conference in Queensland featured a day on the educational use of gardens in schools and a tour of two school gardens in Brisbane. The coming Community Gardens Network national conference in Adelaide in March, currently being organised by the multi-talented Claire Fulton and team, is to feature two days on the use and benifits of school gardens.

Those who have been around the community garden/Permaculture milieu for a time will recognise that the pioneering work started by Carolyn Nuttall, Robina McCurdy and Salli Ramsden has now been mainstreamed. Robina, an energetic New Zealand woman from Tui Community, offered a three-day workshop immediately prior to the 1995 Permaculture convergence in Adelaide that spurred the development of garden-based education in primary and secondary schools. The Edible Classroom conference was evidence of the idea’s coming of age.

FOUNDATION TEXT: Carolyn Nuttall’s book, The Children’s Food Forest and her manual of worksheets, The Food Forest Resource Sheets, are still available. For prices .

November 2005...

Ringwood garden - removal and revival

Ralph Powell writes...

Ringwood Community Garden is no longer on the corner of Canterbury and Belgrave Roads, Ringwood.

The Ringwood Community Garden Inc. was given notice in the late 1990s that its site, on the Eastlink easement, would be required for road works in 2003.

So, after more than 20 years at the corner Canterbury and Belgrave Roads, Ringwood, the Ringwood Community Garden has moved to its new site in Selkirk
Avenue, Wantirna.

We have been operating there for just on 12 months and are delighted with the progress made to date. A total of 100 plots (10m x 3m) have been developed, water put on, fencing erected, a shed built and a greenhouse erected. With just on 40 members we are on a membership drive to attract people keen to grow organic vegetables in a pleasant sociable environment.

Please visit our we site at www.ringwoodcommunitygarden.org.au, or phone on 03 9801 4031.

Ralph Powell, Secretary, Ringwood Community Garden Inc.

Coordinator's REPORT July-September 2005

13/7: Hobson’s Bay/Laverton High
Travelled to Laverton High with Tash Morton and John Morahan (both of Brisbane's Northey Street City Farm and the Australian City Farms & Community Gardens Network) to assist them in planning a school garden. The meeting was very positive with Hobson’s Bay Council being present along with local residents and representatives from the school.

This meeting reinforced both the need for us to have somebody to fulfil this role and the standing we have in the general community regarding school gardens.

17/7: Tour - Geelong Organic Gardeners and Ballarat Community gardeners
Organised and Lead a tour to seven community gardens. Attended by 40 people

21/7: Ravenswood Award
As detailed elsewhere in the NEWS section of this website I went to Tassie to present this award.

The event was very successful with lots of media exposure.

19/8: Stawell Community Garden
Travel to Stawell and presented to a group of locals that are interested in setting up a community garden.

28/8: Colac Community Garden
Travel to Colac with Basil Natoli (community garden pioneer and Department of Human Services) and presented to a group of public housing tenants that are interested in setting up a community garden.

26/8: Food Security
Attended a workshop that looked at strategies to tackle food security. Talked at length of the benefits of community gardens and food coops.

12/9: Yarraville Community Garden
PowerPoint presentation and fielded questions around community gardens. This group hopes to start a community garden.

13/9: Community Development Forum Swanbourne University
Presented to a group of over 100 students about the benefits of the work that Cultivating Community does and the impact of community gardens generally.

APEN Conference
This is an international Conference run for people working in rural change.Being on the organising committee will give me the opportunity to expose community gardens to a new audience.

Also seeing how a $600 a ticket event is put on should help the next time we put on the gathering.

Victorian Community Garden gathering
The date for this has been set for 11/12 February 2006.

Cultivating Community will not be the main organisers. Responsibly will be taken by other community gardens and Darebin Council.

Northern Community Garden Network
Through my work I have been attending meetings of this regional network for the last two months. It is great to see  a council sponsor the network and bring community gardeners together.

Meetings are attended by representatives from up to 12 community gardens.

Proposed national network worker
I have met with the network's John Morahn and discussed the job description for the national worker propsed at the 2005 ACFCGN national conference. We have made progress but are waiting for further funding opportunities to progress more.

My job with Cultivating Community has allowed me to undertake most of the above initiatives. However, I have also spent a considerable amount of my own time promoting the Network and travelling to these events.

Hope you have all had a productive couple of months.

Ben Neil, Chief Executive Officer, Cultivating Community, PO Box 8, Abbotsford, Victoria 3067. P: 03 9415 6580. M: 0404 255 317.

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PAGE UPDATED... Tuesday, 3 April 2007