About Us // Sydney City Farm

Vision

To create a green sanctuary to showcase an eco-friendly future in the heart of Sydney.

Sydney City Farm aims to inspire people to make significant changes towards living a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle. It will focus on the universal pleasures of growing, harvesting, preparing and eating food, The farm will be a beautiful place that informs it’s visitors directly and by example – it will be lively, welcoming, inclusive and engaging.

At its heart will be an organic café with indoor and outdoor seating. Surrounding the café will be the farm itself – acres of organic and permaculture gardens, fruit trees, nut orchards and small animals such as ducks and chooks – all providing the produce that is prepared and savoured at the café. The children will delight in seeing the small animals at the farm while at the same time learning how food is grown and prepared.

Sydney City Farm will be run by the community for the community. With the support of professional management and staff, participants will be able to engage at the level best suited to their needs and lifestyle – as little or as much as they like. A diverse range of community groups will feel welcomed and contribute to the warm and inclusive City Farm community.

For those more attuned to a hands-on approach, a vital part of the farm will be its environmental education programs. These will provide information on how to grow food sustainably and showcase the latest in water-saving techniques and climate-friendly renewable technologies. Ultimately it will be by these small, individual efforts, that we aim to make changes on a global level.

As it grows and matures, Sydney City Farm will be able to host community cultural events and festivals, markets and fairs, and play a role connecting farmers and growers with householders. It will support community groups who want to run training and recycling programs, like bicycle repair workshops. It will also initiate social ventures like collecting food waste from city restaurants, cafes and households to create compost – educating people about minimising food wasteage as well as diverting organic waste from landfill.

The activities and impacts of Sydney City Farm can be centred on one large site or be spread over multiple smaller sites. Various aspects could be replicated in other parts of Sydney.

The Sydney City Farm vision is a seed that will naturally germinate, sprout and grow with the support and engagement of Sydney-siders. It will draw on the groundswell of enthusiasm for community gardens and growers markets, and network with like-minded groups and organizations.

It is modelled on city farm projects around the world.

Organisation

City Farm is a not-for-profit Incorporated Association. This means the farm belongs to all its members in the community and any income generated is required to be reinvested in our ongoing work for the community.

Members elect a Board of Management who represent them in the ongoing management of the project. A third of the Board is elected at each annual general meeting.

City Farm also has supporters, people who don't wish to participate actively in the operation of the farm but who wish to support the venture financially and stay informed of its achievements.

City Farm is not associated with any other group and is wholly devoted to the creation of a working urban farm garden and centre for sustainable urban living.

Who We Are

Roderick Simpson - Urban Planner
Rod's thirty years experience in architecture, master planning and urban design shine through in his practical vision of a farm and sustainable living centre that compliments the historic and natural beauty of Callan Park.
Rod is one of the principal consultants to the 'Sustainable Sydney 2030' Project - a radical vision for a truly green city. He was also pivotal in the development of BASIX: Building Sustainability Index for the NSW Government.
Working on behalf of Greenpeace, Rod was instrumental in the development of the Green Games bid for the Sydney Olympics. The Sydney Olympic Village - a showcase in sustainable building and design - was developed under Rod's lead. Rod has won numerous awards for his groundbreaking plans and designs.

Andrew Jackson - President
Andrew works as a Visual Effects Supervisor with George Miller's film production company, Dr D Studios. Andrew has been a Leichhardt resident for twelve years. He is a passionate believer in the need for change to a more sustainable society.

Carolyn Armstrong - Vice President
Carolyn has worked in residential garden maintenance and horticultural consulting for the past 12 years. She is an active gardener who loves to grow her own vegetables and expose her two young daughters to the delights of picking veggies from the plot and collecting fresh eggs.

David Gilligan - Treasurer
David is an accountant/finance manager who has spent the last 15 years in accounting and large corporate organisations. He has a keen interest in educating and inspiring his three children, and the broader community, on how to live more sustainably - a vision closely aligned to that of the Sydney City Farm. He believes it is high time to put his skills and knowledge to use for good rather than evil.

Liesje Clement - Secretary
Liesje, a graphic designer, recently resigned after 14 years at the Sydney Morning Herald, to dedicate a year to bringing the Sydney City Farm project to fruition. She is passionate about creating a farm where inner city dwellers will have hands-on access to the means of healthy food production, preparation and diet. Currently she is working on the city farm project at the School of Social Entrepreneurs (www.sse.org.au) which runs programs supporting entrepreneurial individuals establish effective sustainable community projects. She is responsible for the city farm graphics and is a founding member of the Sydney City Farm.

Carolin Wenzel - Communications Director
Carolin has been a consistent supporter of the City Farm through its various developments. As Communications Manager with Greenpeace Australia Pacific where she has worked for nearly ten years, she has extensive experience in communicating key environmental issues to the Australian public. Carolin's media career began in radio production with the Australian Broadcasting Commission. She is experienced in community advocacy through her public relations work with Keep Australia Beautiful, migrant community projects in Sydney's west and with the Consumers Association of Australia.

Elsa Evers
Elsa Evers is a graduate from UTS, where she studied Media, Arts and Production. She works on the media team at Greenpeace campaigning against the spread of genetically engineered food in Australia. She has a history working on community projects, and is currently completing an online documentary about displaced communities in Colombia. She is a regular visitor at 'Bike Club' in Waterloo and has a bike made entirely from parts salvaged from the garbage tip.

Brandon Saul
Brandon is the director of Mi5 Media + Events and the Executive Producer of the international youth arts network, NOISE. Brandon is Vice President of Sydney's largest community radio Broadcaster, FBi, and developed and staged the popular music festivals Homebake, the Byron Bay Arts and Music Festival, and The Great Escape. Brandon has a personal goal of planting a million trees on an Eco-community project he is developing in Byron Bay. Other current projects include a 660-acre regional art and festival precinct and an environmentally sustainable mixed-use creative industry park that produces its own energy and has a centralized water recycling system.

Anthony Sheedy
Anthony is the Property Officer at Woollahra Municipal Council. With a Bachelor of Business (Land Economics) Degree, Anthony has gained experience in all facets of Property Management over the past twelve years. Anthony has also worked for the 'Sydney Cove Authority' (SCRA) Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority (SHFA); where he managed heritage properties and the 'Rocks Markets'.

Sky De Jersey
Sky spent the last five years working with recently arrived refugees for the St Vincent de Paul Society, firstly managing direct settlement services, and then co-ordinating all migrant and refugee activities for Vinnies in NSW. This role included membership on the Refugee Council Board, a position Sky retained while moving to work with international development in Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Philippines and Sri Lanka under the auspices of Austcare and Childfund. Sky is committed to the concept of a city farm in Sydney and sustainable living in general, learning slowly how to grow vegetables on her balcony.

Carla Thackrah
Carla was for ten years, a principal flute with the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, performing at the Sydney Opera House. As president of the Players Committee for many years, Carla led a successful campaign to improve conditions in the Opera House pit. During this time she was the players representative on the board of the Australian Opera. Carla lectures part time at the Queensland University of Technology and runs her own film production company, creating documentaries and short films. She was General manager of Sydney City Farm in 2008, spearheading it's first major membership drive and early negotiations with various political stakeholders in inner Sydney.

FAQ

Where is Sydney City Farm?

We don’t have a site yet. We and our members are participating in 2 processes that may result in City Farms being established in Sydney.
The first is the Callan Park Master Planning process you can view progress on this on Leichhardt Council’s designated site
And City of Sydney Council has commissioned Clouston & Assoc to conduct a feasibility study to identify the best location for a City Farm in the Sydney local government area.
SCF media release, Nov 2009
http://sydneycityfarm.zero51.com/blog/?m=200911
So what is Sydney City Farm now?

Right now, we are a large community of Sydney siders on a mission to realise the dream of creating a City Farm and Sustainable Living Centre in Sydney.
Sydney City Farm is a not-for-profit Incorporated Association. This means the farm belongs to all its members in the community and any income generated is required to be reinvested in our ongoing work for the community.

Members elect a Board of Management who represent them in the ongoing management of the project. A third of the Board is elected at each annual general meeting.

Sydney City Farm also has supporters, who provide financial support and stay informed of its achievements.
How is it funded?

Currently we are funded through tax deductable donations and membership fees.
Financial members have voting rights at meetings.
We have been granted $5000 by Sydney of City Council to fund updates to our website.
We are seeking sponsorship relationships and once we can be operational on a site, we plan to seek partners to create demonstration projects in sustainable living.
Income generating activities will be undertaken possibly including nursery services and use of the grounds for events such as community fairs, markets and public events.
How will the feasibility study work?

Clouston & Associates are holding 3 public consultation sessions – the last to be held on August 25th. The consultation process covers all desired activities on the city farm, and examines all potential sites for their suitability. When the final report is delivered, Council will make the preferred site public and invite community feedback.
What are the potential sites?

The proposal presented to Council identifies several possible sites:
Owned by Council:
Sydney Park, off the Princes Highway in St Peters
The Crescent Lands (Glebe Foreshore)
Not owned by council – will involve negotiation with landowners.
Harold Park (next to Crescent Lands)
Powerhouse Museum vacant strip

City Farm proposal to SSC
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Council/documents/meetings/2009/Committee/Environment/161109/091116_EHC_ITEM03.pdf