Sydney City Farm

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…
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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.