Sydney City Farm

Great news, following the unanimous support of the City of Sydney Environment and Heritage Committee yesterday, the full council meeting next Monday Dec 6th will pass the proposal to put the Sydney City Farm Feasability Study on exhibition for public comment.

Monday 6^th Dec at 5 pm, Sydney Town Hall

Come to this meeting if you’d like to see witness this major step toward our city farm.

See below for more info on the proposal.

AND

The following night Leichhardt Council will consider the Callan Park Masterplan before it goes on public exhibition.

We encourage you to come to this meeting

Tuesday 7^th Dec at 7 pm Leichhardt Council Chambers.

More information on the City of Sydney proposal:

The Committee voted in favour of the “articulated model” for a city farm. This would see horticultural and associated activities localised in Sydney Park at St Peters and the educational/cultural elements in a facility in the disused car park of the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo.

The full report by Cloustons is available on the Council’s website:
http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Council/MeetingsAndCommittees/2010/Committees/291110/environment.asp

Sydney City Farm president Andrew Jackson spoke at the Committee meeting in support of the proposal:

“We congratulate City of Sydney Council on supporting progress towards establishing a functional City Farm in the Sydney LGA. A city farm will provide opportunities for a broad cross section of people to change the way they live and to reduce their carbon emissions.”.

We want to thank all our Sydney City Farm supporters who attended the various meetings for both Callan Park and the City of Sydney workshops, as well as all our members who were there in spirit. An outcome of three city farms is beyond our expectations  and you helped us get there.

We look forward to seeing you at the City of Sydney Council Meeting at Sydney Town Hall next Monday 6^th Dec, 5pm and the Leichhardt Council chambers the following evening, 7pm.
Sydney City Farm Committee

LEICHHARDT COUNCIL ANNOUNCES A CITY FARM FOR CALLAN PARK!!

On Friday 8^th Oct, Leichhardt Council presented its draft master plan for Callan Park which included an approximately 3-hectare farm and orchards.

SEE MORE

BUT THE FINAL OUTCOME IS DEPENDENT ON YOU!!

It’s essential you log on to their site by the 29^th October to support the draft plan

AND

MEET COSTA, OF COSTA’S GARDEN ODYSSEY, at our AGM!!

Costa will be Guest Speaker at our AGM on

SATURDAY 23rd OCT – 11am CANE ROOM, WHARF RD,  CALLAN PARK,  ROZELLE

Download a map of the cane room.

We are looking forward to sharing the wonderful developments in both the Sydney and Leichhardt Council consultation processes that are taking us closer to having possibly several City Farms in Sydney.

Bring a plate if you wish, and join us for tea and chat afterwards.

Nominations are now open for financial members to stand for election to up to 4 of 11 committee positions.

You can download the nomination form here. Only financial members are eligible to nominate for the committee.

You can download a proxy form here. Only financial members are eligible to vote.

You can become a financial member up to the start of the AGM, but nominations for committee positions will close by Wednesday October 20.

Financial membership needs to be renewed annually, so if you have paid to be a member of Sydney City Farm, it’s important to check your membership status

Thanks to all of you who attended the public consultations with Clouston & Associates and who responded online to City of Sydney’s City Farm feasibility study. Also thanks to everyone who attended Callan Park planning meetings, and who logged on and participated in Leichhardt Council’s online process.

We look forward to seeing you at the AGM.

Yours in sustainability,

The Sydney City Farm Committee

It’s that time of year again – a bit earlier than last year. We are giving notice that we are holding our Annual General Meeting on Saturday October 23 at 11am in the Cane Room in the grounds of Callan Park, Rozelle.

The AGM is the opportunity for financial members of Sydney City Farm to vote on any resolutions and to be able to nominate for 4 of the 11 Committee positions. If you become a financial member or renew before October 2 you will be sent an email which will include a nomination form for one of the 4 committee positions which will become vacant. Nominations will close on Wednesday October 20.

Financial membership needs to be renewed annually, so if you have paid to be a member of Sydney City Farm, it’s important to check your membership status and renew before Saturday October 23 if you intend to vote.

A formal notice outlining the program, including our special guest speaker, and providing directions will be sent in early October.

Where’s the Cane Room ? Off Wharf Rd – see the map below…
View Larger Map
Yours in sustainability,

The Sydney City Farm Committee

Committee members and supporters attended two community consultation meetings on the 25th and 28th August run by two separate councils – The City of Sydney and Leichhardt Council. It seems finally Sydney is set to catch up with Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, with consultation over City Farms progressing through both these council processes.

Coming from so far behind other Australian cities, it’s encouraging that we could see recommendations for up to 3 City Farm sites emerge out of the current consultation processes.

City of Sydney Council is unanimously in favour of establishing a City Farm in the Sydney Local Government Area.

The Council appointed Clouston & Associates to conduct a feasibility study to result in recommendations for the most suitable site and model for a City Farm in Sydney.

At the conclusion of the third community consultation on Wednesday August 25^th, the front running site option seems to be Sydney Park, as the first stage in an ‘articulated model’ that would include a site behind the Powerhouse Museum almost concurrently. With the possibility of the Crescent Lands starting as a satellite site within 5 years, and adjascent land in the Harold Park redevelopment also possibly being included within ten years.

The high degree of enthusiasm and commitment from the Powerhouse Museum would make Sydney’s first city farm unique in it’s capacity to include highly sophisticated training, exhibitions and online resources to promote sustainable living.

Clouston’s is due to deliver it’s final report to Council in November – the presentation will be open to the public. For more details or to participate consult  http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Residents/ParksAndLeisure/CommunityGardens/CityFarmFeasabilityStudy.asp

Leichhardt Council’s Callan Park master planning process run by McGregor Coxall, is showing an extremely high degree of support for proposals to create a City Farm on the site.

An online ‘collaborative map’ triggered enormous community engagement in favour of a City Farm on the site, with comments like this:

“.. a unique opportunity to build a city farm modelled on other great examples such as CERES in Melbourne. Research shows people value the environment by their exposure to the natural world during their childhood. It is essential to offer such spaces in metropolitan cities. Spaces where people learn about growing food, can connect with animals and build community. A city farm could also be an important vehicle for community education on sustainability and inner city food security which will become increasingly important in years to come. It too can provide a wonderful space for community gatherings and celebrations that acknowledge the traditional and current custodians of the land.”

McGregor Coxall will wrap up the consultation process by the end of the year.

To view the online consultation process, visit

http://callanparkyourplan.com.au

Carolin Wenzel, Communications Director, Sydney City Farm

We are a not-for-profit Incorporated Association. Our goal is to generate support for the creation of a city farm and sustainable living centre in Sydney. The organisation belongs to all its members in the community and we will hold our third AGM in October.

We have 2 important community consultation workshops coming up next week.

City of Sydney City Farm Feasibility Study Workshop 3

Wednesday 25^th August, 6pm – 8.30pm

at Redfern Town Hall

More details…

Callan Park Master Planning Workshop 3

Saturday 28^th August, 10.30am – 1.30

at the Callan Park Recreation Hall (building B504 bottom of Wharf Rd)

Committee members and supporters of the Sydney City Farm have been attending all the previous workshops and it would be great for that to continue through this process of community consultation.

Thanks to all our supporters who have been coming and also to those who have filled in the online surveys!

Please continue. It’s not necessary for you to have attended previous workshops to come along to these next ones, so we encourage newcomers to join us.

BUT, if you can’t come, take a little time to do the online surveys. Click on the links below.

For Callan Park…

For The City of Sydney Feasability Study…

Please offer your views on a city farm to the City of Sydney online survey

Better still, join some of the city farm committee at the meeting.

The following letter is from Anne Walker at City of Sydney…

Thank you all so much for coming along to our last workshop, we are now
promoting the next one on Tuesday 10 August from 6-8.30pm which I hope
you can all attend.

The City of Sydney is conducting a City Farm Feasibility Study to
investigate potential sites for a city farm, research best practice and
consult with the community about what a city farm in central Sydney
should look like. Attached is an invitation to our next community
workshop on Tuesday 10 August from 6pm to 8.30pm. This second workshop
will provide a brief summary of the project so far and work towards
establishing a management structure for a City Farm for Sydney. It would
be great to have your input into this Study, please RSVP to
james@p4ps.com.au by Friday 6 August.

If you can’t attend but would still like to provide input into the
Feasibility Study please complete our online survey, available to
download from the City’s website

http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Residents/ParksAndLeisure/CommunityGa

rdens/CityFarmFeasabilityStudy.asp

Apologies for any cross postings.

Kind regards,

Annie

Annie Walker
Community Gardens and Volunteering Coordinator
City of Sydney
Ph: 9265 9786
Fax: 9265 9660
anwalker@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/communitygardens

Sydney City Farm has now got a Facebook group. Join us, and find out the latest news, get more involved, or just share gardening tips.

Join us here , and don’t forget to invite your friends to join the group as well.

Sydney City Farm has written a new vision statement. Please take a bit of time to read it and send us any comments…

The 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 in New York, London and Melbourne.

Ceres, Melbourne

Collingwood Childrens’ Farm, Melbourne

Hackney City Farm, UK

Organisation

Sydney City Farm is a not-for-profit Incorporated Association, whose purpose currently is to generate support for the creation of a city farm and sustainable living centre in Sydney. The organisation 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.

Sydney 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.

As Sydney City Council selects a tender for a feasibility study on where to put the city farm, the project is getting real.
Now we need to build the city farm community so that when we get a site for the farm, we can work together and start building.

Over the next few months we’ve organised stalls at organic markets and festivals to spread the word about city farm.

Volunteers needed: Help spread the word at market stalls

It’s a perfect time to get even more involved and help out. We’re looking for people to volunteer a morning or afternoon to help man the City Farm stall.

If you would like to help, please call Liesje on 0425 200 355 or write us an email at sydneycityfarm@gmail.com

The dates for stalls are:

May
23       Primo Italiano Festival – Stanley Street, Leichaardt

June
5          SMH Growers Market, Pyrmont (TBC)
19        Everleigh Markets, Newtown

July
3          SMH Growers Market (TBC)
17        Everleigh Markets

August
7          SMH Growers Market (TBC)
21        Everleigh Markets

September
18        Everleigh Markets

It’s a surprisingly easy day and you meet lots of nice people. At the stall we will explain the concept and how people can get more involved. We’ll also be selling seedlings and t.shirts to make it more fun.

Let us know if you can help out on any of these days by emailing sydneycityfarm@gmail.com.

If you can’t make it, do the next best thing and mention the city farm concept to a friend. Join our facebook group,  and invite some friends to join the discussion about what they want at the Sydney City Farm.

Thank you for your ongoing support,
Elsa and the City Farm team.

Often when I meet people and tell them about the vision to create a City Farm and sustainable living centre in the heart of Sydney, they look into the distance and start imagining their farm: ‘It could have a bike repair workshop… and a Saturday growers market … and an and interweb of paths that wind through the orchard. There would be a solar house and an organic cafe…’ But everyone has a different idea of what the perfect city farm would be, and we want to record all these ideas to combine the best ones, and hit the ground running when we get a site.

So tell us: What does your City Farm look like? How does it run? What events do you have? And what do you want to grow?

Write your comments as a response to this blog and we will make sure they get considered in any proposal for the City Farm.