Community gardening is not a new concept but it is fast becoming a popular pastime.  As communities in Sydney focus on supporting sustainable urban living, parcels of public land are being earmarked for community gardens.

Community gardens have always been a reliable and important source of food.  Whether out of curiosity or necessity, some early Australian settlers hunted native mammals and tried local berries and fruits, but largely set to producing familiar European crops, often on a community basis.  During WWII, inner city community allotments were established throughout cities in England to provide fresh produce.  In Asia, community gardening remains a typical way of life in many villages.

The contemporary community garden is a social stimulus, bringing together communities, often diverse in their ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.  Groups with a common passion for fresh organic produce work together to beautify neighbourhoods, learn and share knowledge of gardening, produce nutritious food, reduce family food budgets and provide opportunity for recreation, exercise, therapy and education.

Gardens are generally sited on vacant public land which may be donated by local councils under various lease agreements. Despite the continuing squeeze on space within our modern cities, most councils see the important long-term role these productive green spaces play in a city environment.

As part of “Sustainable Sydney 2030″, Lord Mayor, Clover Moore proposes increasing the number of community-based garden projects including verge and school kitchen gardens.  ”Sydneysiders are increasingly recognising the emerging sustainability challenges posed by climate change and local food security,” Ms Moore said.

“By supporting community gardens and other local food initiatives, the City aims to reduce the impact of these significant challenges and contribute to the health and wellbeing of the wider community”.

Gardens also appear within schools often with the help of local non-profit organisations and local community.  Slow Food Sydney was instrumental in establishing the Crown Street Public School in Surry Hills where lessons on cooking, nutrition and the environment are seamlessly woven into the school curriculum.  Following the success of this project, here are plans for more Slow Food School Gardens in the Sydney area.

The Sydney city area currently has 13 community gardens while the greater Sydney region has an estimated 35 with others awaiting allocation of land including Epping, Ryde and four in Randwick.

One of the latest gardens in Sydney is Paddington Community Garden (PCG).  Like most community gardens, the focus is on education, member involvement, exercise and production of organic food.

Rob and Vicki Joyner approached Woollahra Council with the concept plan.  Together they have turned what was an area of unused public land at the northern end of Trumper Park into a thriving community garden and social hub.

It appears to be the perfect location.  The seasonal vegetables of zucchini, pumpkins, tomatoes, herbs and melons literally overflow the sleepers which make up the no-dig beds.  There is even a tropical microclimate at the base of a high sandstone wall where banana trees, ginger and paw-paw thrive.

Ensuring sufficient water has been the only frustrating issue, and one with which all gardeners in Sydney have to contend.  The PCG hopes to be self-sustaining in their water requirements in the future and have been able to harvest water from the roof of the nearby tennis club.   There is a second rainwater tank, waiting to harvest water from the proposed rotunda an area set aside for meetings and demonstrations.

“We have over 40 members and 25 beds”, explains Lesley Scott, Committee Vice-President.  ”Some members share plots while eight beds running through the centre of the garden are dedicated for community use”.  A common feature, beds are cared for communally and produce shared amongst the members.  These are often reserved for more exotic species and for experiments with plant diversification.

Before becoming a member of such a community garden, individuals must attend classes on the principles of organic gardening, companion planting, making compost and using worms farms.  As part of their lease arrangement, PCG make their garden available to Woollahra Council for similar sessions.

As part of their own ongoing education, members of PCG meet one Sunday a month for informal lectures and talks.  Meetings finish with a communal meal made from the garden’s produce.  ”Last week was a fabulous pesto and vegetable pasta dish using basil, zucchini, beans and pumpkin picked straight from the garden,” recalls Bettina Boss, garden members and Treasurer.

“It is great to watch the community grow and work together, especially the children”, says Bettina.  It is not only the young toddlers who pick out worms and help plant seeds, “teenagers get in and help construction and build whatever needs doing.  City teens don’t always get that sort of opportunity”.

It appears that turning vacant parcels of land where weeds once thrived, into productive social hubs is just one of the tangible benefits of contemporary community gardens.

Reference and for more information, please visit

www.communitygarden.org.au

www.paddingtoncommunitygarden.org.au/news

www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/today_in_your_garden/communitygardens

www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Residents/WasteAndRecycling/WorkShops/CommunityGarden

I have been involved in food for many years through catering, running cooking classes, writing cook books and articles for national magazines as well as presenting on several TV shows.  I presently run Pembertons Food Workshop providing hands-on cooking classes for adults and children.

Out of my love of all things practical, I have written a series of household hint books as well as 15 cookbooks.  The last one is “Jams and Preserves”, published by Penguin Australia.  I am a keen gardener and completed a course in Permaculture Design.  I have since been  involved with starting up a local community garden in Willoughby.

I am passionate about sharing my knowledge in all matters relating to food, particularly where food comes from and how it is grown.  This translates into why I follow the Slow Food philosophy and have pushed to set up inner city school gardens.  Youth education is an important part of my commitment to Slow Food.  As a member of Slow Food I want to engage a wider audience in learning about local producers, saving the disappearing Sydney farmlands and retaining food traditions.

John Newton is a freelance writer, journalist and novelist.  He writes on food, eating, travel, farming and associated environmental issues for anybody who will pay him - which has included, among others, the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Slow International, The Art of Eating (once so far) and Sydney Magazine.  He is also co-editor of the restaurant guide Sydney Eats and The Foodies Guide to Sydney with Helen Greenwood.  His most recent award was the Gold Ladle for Best Food Journalist in the 2005 World Food Media Awards.  Some of his books are: The Man Who Painted Women, a novel; Wogfood: an oral history with recipes; Fresh From Italy with Stefano Manfredi; The Food of Spain and Beppi, a life in three courses with Beppi Polese.  His most recent book is The Roots of Civilisation: Plants that Changed the World.

I am a third year co-op student at the University of Technology, Sydney completing by bachelor’s degree in Accounting.  My knowledge and passion for sustainable local produce was first triggered by taking part in various Sydney food-coop committees and through volunteer apprentices in the kitchens of chefs like Andriano Zumbo and Matt Moran.

I joined the Slow Food movement following a growing personal interest and curiosity to explore another approach of the food industry, a more sustainable one for the future.  As the Sydney Slow Food Youth Coordinator for 2010, my objective is to establish a better understanding of the Slow Food movement to the youth community in Sydney by bringing together people who share the same philosophy.

Peter has worked in the food industry for over 25 years, the last seven as owner of Granny Smith Natural Food Market in Turramurra. Peter recognises the importance of quality farming to the protection of our environment: water use, soil fertility and a diverse farming economy.  Very committed to Slow Food’s philosophy of taking “the bigger picture” into account, he isn’t just a certified organic retailer but also actively sources quality local products that may not necessarily be organic.

Peter believes very strongly in protecting our food supply: the local farmland that produces so much of Sydney’s food, a diverse environment of small and specialist suppliers, manufacturers and retailers and a network of small, local shopping centres throughout the metropolis.  He is greatly concerned by the increasing concentration of our food supply into the two large supermarket chains.