Tamil Feasts Market Stall Launch

We have expanded our Tamil Feasts family!  

Tamil Feasts is a social enterprise that provides employment for recently settled asylum seekers.  9 new participants who are all seeking asylum have started a hospitality training program with us at CERES. 

For 8 weeks this Spring, our Tamil Feasts trainees will be holding a food stall at the CERES Saturday Market.  And they would love to share their food with you. 

We will be serving up a variety of yummy street food to send your taste buds on a journey.  Think dosa’s, freshly made chai and sweet treats.

So come finish off your week, support our new trainees and enjoy a plate of life changing goodness.  

Our first market opens

Market Stall Launch

Saturday 7th September 2019

9am – 2pm

Tamil Feasts Market Stall will run from 7th September until 26th October 2019.

For more information please contact CERES on 9389 0100.

Tamil Feasts - More than just a meal

tamilfeasts.ceres.org.au 

Highlights from the Moreland Local Food Networking and Autumn Celebration on 4 April.

About 40 residents got together to network and hear local food groups tell interesting and inspiring stories about their local food projects at the Merlynston Progress Hall, Coburg on April 4, 2019.

Here are the highlights as well as copies of the presentations and contact details to find out more about each initiative:

• Claudia and Angela from Open Table talked about the nutritious meals they make from surplus food to hold monthly or fortnightly community lunches in Brunswick, Fawkner, Coburg and Glenroy.

If you would like to volunteer to help at any of the community lunches in your area, please email hello@open-table.org or register at www.open-table.org/volunteers

• Rani, Emma, Jane and Bec from the Upfield Urban Forest described how they have transformed three different sites in the Upfield bike track from barren wastelands to cool, shady, beautiful spaces that improve the commuter experience immeasurably and at the same time reduce the urban heat island effect, store water and carbon and increase food security for local residents.

If you would like more information and to get involved in this fantastic initiative, click on this link

• Jen from Fair Share Fare introduced the exciting and innovative new Community Graft project which is all about preserving our food heritage and supporting food security by preventing the loss of existing food and fruit trees and establishing new urban orchards. In the process, the project will foster the intergenerational and intercultural transfer of food growing knowledge and skills. Free grafting workshops have already been held in March and April this year to create a community of ready ‘grafters’.

To find out more and to get involved, contact jenrae@fairsharefare.com

Links to the presentations from the event are provided below:

Local Food Network Presentation 4 April 2019

The Community Graft Presentation 4 April 2019

Free Composting Workshop!

Brunswick Neighbourhood House Community Garden has upgraded its composting facilities!

To celebrate, Brunswick Neighbourhood House is delivering a FREE composting workshop on Saturday 11th May, as part of our celebrations for Neighbourhood House Week.

This workshop will be delivered by composting enthusiast Anna Sonogan.

In this super exciting workshop you will learn:

• How composting works, including the difference between hot and cold compost
• How to balance your compost with the correct ratios of carbon and nitrogen
• All about the improvements made to the BNH Community Garden composting system
• Handy tips for composting at home

Where: Brunswick Neighbourhood House Community Garden, Rear of 43A De Carle St Brunswick

When: Saturday 11th May, 9:30am-11am

Cost: Free, but please book.

Contact Brunswick Neighbourhood House on 9386 9418 or email info@bnhc.vic.edu.au

www.bnhc.vic.edu.au

Many thanks to 3000 Acres for providing funds to upgrade the BNH Community Garden Composting Facilities!

Melbourne Food Hub Workshops

The Melbourne Food Hub in Alphington invites you to two workshops celebrating making and preserving food

Tomato Passata Workshop:
Join @Melbourne Food Hub on Sunday 24th March for a 4 hour Tomato Passata Making Workshop. The seasons are changing and it’s time to preserve a splash of summer in a bottle for those cold winter months.

Tomato Day has long been a celebration of seasonal eating and bringing our community together. Melbourne Food Hub would like to honour this tradition with you all. Come and learn all there is to know about preserving tomatoes and leave with a skill for life.

In this 4 hour workshop, you will learn how to make a traditional tomato passata - each participant will receive 10kg worth of tomatoes to transform - enjoy a delicious seasonal lunch with local wine and take home your preserved bottles to enjoy over winter. The workshop is the first step in setting up the fully functioning community kitchen. This class is full of all the good things in life: eating, drinking and preserving! The workshop will be facilitated by the vibrant Betty Vassilou who has a presence in the community, teaching for many years at Westgarth primary as well as a being a regular stall holder at weekend Melbourne Farmers Markets.

The workshop will begin during @Alphington Farmers Markets so come early to pick up your local and sustainable groceries direct from our wonderful #Victorian #producers.

Link to Facebook event: https://bit.ly/2UxeTuR
Link to Trybooking event: https://bit.ly/2NYYhJK

Wicking Bed Workshop:
Gardening in a small space? Want to use limited water resources more efficiently? Back by popular demand, join @Melbourne Food Hub and @Very Edible Gardens for a 2 hour workshop learning all there is to know about wicking beds. See productive wicking beds in use on site and learn how to build your own. There will also be a working bee commencing directly afterwards for anyone who would like to stay on.

The workshop is running on Sunday 31st March during the weekly @Alphington Farmers Market so come early or stay late and grab your groceries direct from our #Victorian #producers.

Link to Facebook event: https://bit.ly/2CeBXXW
Link to Trybooking event: https://bit.ly/2Cq9PBB

You are invited to the Moreland Local Food Networking and Autumn Celebration!

Moreland Council invites you to celebrate the achievements of our amazing local food community and the wonderful colours and flavours of Autumn!

When: Thursday 4 April, 6:30 - 8pm
Where: Merlynston Progress hall, 1 Novian Street, Coburg North
Cost: FREE

NOTE: This event follows on from the Moreland Grows exhibition by 3000acres (5:30 - 6:30pm in the same venue), which will bring to life in photos and videos the fantastic diversity of food gardening taking place all around Moreland.

Join us for presentations and discussions about local food projects. We will also officially launch the Moreland Community Food Growing Assessment Guidelines, which provides handy tips and resources and helps make the process for starting a new community garden clearer.

Delicious seasonal food will be provided and there will be time to network with others passionate about creating a sustainable, just and vibrant food system.

Children are welcome, accompanied by a carer.

This is a FREE event, but bookings are essential through this link.

CERES Harvest Festival 2019

Celebrating and giving thanks to the good earth, our farmers and the cycle of the seasons.

Come and celebrate at the CERES Harvest Festival on Saturday 23^rd March 2019.

CERES Harvest Festival offers a range of entertainment with live music, cultural performances, free workshops, animal displays, giant veggie growing competition and kids activities. All this alongside food and craft stalls from our most loved local merchants.

Bring your whole family along to the Harvest Festival celebrations. Sat 23rd March from 10am-3pm, Cnr Roberts and Stewart Streets, Brunswick East.

A little bit of country right here in the city.  Entry is $5* Kids are free. 

For more information contact 9389 0100 or visit www.ceres.org.au

*All proceeds go towards keeping CERES awesome

3000acres and Open Gardens Victoria invite you to food gardening tours and workshops this summer!

3000acres and Open Gardens Victoria are holding a range of exciting food gardening tours and workshops in Moreland and Darebin this summer! Get inspired to grow your own food and meet like minded food gardening enthusiasts at tours and workshops which cover everything from permaculture, keeping quails, bee hotels, productive rental gardens, fruit tree care and maintenance, gardening with kids, seed saving and preserving your summer produce.

Bookings essential – hurry these will sell out fast!

Moreland events:

• 9 Feb – Guided tours at Greg’s productive and organic backyard in Fawkner: https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Gregs-Garden
• 9 Feb – Guided tours at Alanjohn’s rented converted patch (lawn to food!) in Coburg: https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Coburg-Secret-Garden
• 2 and 3 Mar – Guided tours at designer Karen Sutherland's Gunyah garden, Pascoe Vale South: https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Gunyah-2

Darebin events:

• 19 Jan – Guided tours at Kat Lavers ‘The Plummery’ in Northcote: https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/The-Plummery
• 2 Feb – Guided tours at Morgan’s Rented Productive Paradise in Northcote: https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Northcote-Productive-Paradise
• 3 Feb – Fruit Tree Workshops with Justin Calverley at Reservoir Food Forest and Orchard: https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Reservoir-Food-Forest-and-Orchardand https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Summer-fruit-tree-training-and-maintenance
• 9 Feb – Gardening with kids themed guided tour in Reservoir: https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Poppys-Patch
• 16 Feb – Native bee hotel and composting workshops with Katrina Forstner of ‘Buzz&Dig’: https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Buzz-and-Dig-Attracting-Native-Beesand https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Composting-at-Home
• 24 Feb – Seed saving and Preserving the Harvest workshops at Kat Lavers ‘The Plummery’: https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Seed-Saving-workshop-at-The-Plummeryand https://opengardensvictoria.org.au/Preserving-your-Harvest-workshop-at-The-Plummery

Growing Food micro-Enterprise - with Devita Davison, Food Lab Detroit

Are you a current or aspiring food entrepreneur or micro enterprise? Or a small food business interested in being part of a sustainable local food economy which enhances the health and wellbeing of communities?

You are invited to an interactive workshop, cohosted by Moreland City Council and Sustain: The Australian Food Network, featuring Devita Davison,, Executive Director of FoodLab Detroit, telling the inspiring story of the good food movement in Detroit, and the push to build a vibrant food economy in the wake of the decline of the automobile and other manufacturing industries.

She will share the case studies of diverse groups of local entrepreneurs, the skills and confidence they've developed through the Foodlab Detroit program, and how they have gone on to establish food businesses and grow a more equitable food supply which honours identity and culture.

FoodLab is a membership-based non-profit organisation with a vision to cultivate, connect and catalyze, to use food as an economic engine, to form a supportive community of entrepreneurs and to make good food a reality for all Detroiters.

Event Details:

Thursday 7 February, 6 – 8pm
Glenroy Public Hall
5a Cromwell Street, Glenroy
Free event but registrations essential - book here

Light refreshments will be served

About Foodlab Detroit 

FoodLab is a membership-based non-profit organisation with a vision to cultivate, connect and catalyze, to use food as an economic engine, to form a supportive community of entrepreneurs and to make good food a reality for all Detroiters.

Devita's TED interview outlines her approach and experience supporting local food business incubation and entrepreneurs

RetroSuburbia : Action, resilience & future visions

Come and join us for an engaging conversation with permaculture co-originator, David Holmgren.

At this event, Holmgren will advance permaculture ideas as a creative framework for applying vital retrofits to our homes, gardens and, most fundamentally, our behaviours. In particular, he will highlight the importance of household food growing and shared neighbourhood activity in our everyday lives.

Holmgren will participate in an open panel discussion with special quest Kat Laver, local permaculturist. There will also be a Q & A session with the audience.

Sunday 21 October 2018
10:30am - 12:30pm

Cost: $20 Full/$15 CERES Member or concession

Bookings essential. Grab yourself a ticket here:

Location: 
CERES Community Environment Park
Van Raay Meeting Room 1
Cnr Roberts and Stewart Street, East Brunswick, VIC 3057

This event is proudly supported by CERES and Moreland City Council.

Workshops at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne

Composting in Public Spaces- Discussion Forum

An opportunity to discuss challenges and innovative solutions to composting and worm farming in public spaces 

This workshop/facilitated discussion/ forum is aimed at people who are managing/working in composting in public spaces, including Community Gardens, Schools and Early Learning Centres. It is an opportunity to share knowledge, resources and look at ways we might improve our approaches, the public image of composting and potentially increase the number of community composting hubs. 

 

Example Topics for discussion are;

What are the challenges/lessons learnt from you public composting project?

Where are the opportunities?

What are the key messages we would like to send to policy makers?

The workshop will be facilitated/organised by Serena Everill and Richard Brown (not composting experts). Serena works in Early Learning Centres with young children growing food, learning about sustainability, worm farming and composting, and Richard manages the composting hub at West Brunswick Community Garden.

Please register with Serena at severill(at)optusnet.com.au ,with some information about your involvement or interest in public composting/worm farming. 

 

NOTE: THIS IS NOT AN INTRODUCTION TO COMPOSTING.

When: 2 - 4.30 pm, Sunday 14th October.

Where: West Brunswick Community Garden (Behind Moreland Child Care Centre, 49 Everett St, Brunswick West)

We’ll provide afternoon tea. 

Cost: a small donation on the day to West Brunswick Community Garden. 

Grow Your Own Way: Veggie Gardening for Beginners Course

Get ready for spring and hone your gardening skills.  

In Grow Your Own Way, horticulturalist Elspeth Brock will take participants though organic gardening methods with hands on experience in a community garden plot at Pentridge Community Garden.

Grow Your Own Way is a low cost gardening basics course for beginners.
In 8 classes from September to December 2018, you will learn how to grow your own vegetables - from soil preparation and propagation to harvest. All sessions will be held on Sundays for 2 hours from 10.30am to 12.30pm.

Gardening beds at Pentridge Community Garden will be set aside for this course and all tools, materials and equipment will be available on-site.
The following topics will be covered over the 8 weeks:
02/09/18: Preparing good soil, design & planting seedlings
16/09/18: Raising seeds and propagating
30/09/18: Companion planting to deter pests and to attract pollinators
14/10/18: Watering, weeding, mulching, & feeding
28/10/18: Keep good soil - so good! Compost and the like
11/11/18: Pest control and management
25/11/18: Harvesting and cooking
9/12/18: Rejuvenating beds and crop rotation

Book your place now on Eventbrite.

Vote for your favourite Moreland Local Food Project to help them secure funding!

Moreland is fortunate to have a number of fabulous local food projects shortlisted for the Victorian Governments Pick My Project funding initiative.

These projects need your votes to secure funding. The voting is location based - to vote for the project you must either live or work within 5 kilometres of the community where the project is located.

Voting is easy!

1. Go to pickmyproject.vic.gov.au
2. Sign up and Register your address
3. Browse / search for the projects in your area and shortlist them
4. Vote for your top 3
5. Spread the word and let your friends know about your favourite projects and encourage them to vote too!

You are spoilt for choice when it comes to innovative local food projects which connect communities and support a sustainable, just and vibrant local food system. Here are just a selection, but there are many worthy food and non food projects you can choose from:

The Community Grocer
Community Market Champions

Fawkner Food Bowls / 3000acres
The Hothouse - A food hub for fawkner

Open Table
Open Table Community Connection

Coburg High School
VegiePonic Eggsellence

CERES
Growing our Community Gardening Future 

Brunswick Secondary College
Wellbeing and Food Produce Garden

Friends of Moonee Ponds Creek / The Practical Beekeeper
Urban Honey Bee Hub

3000acres
Spring Fling Festival at the Veggie Spot

Brunswick Neighbourhood House
Brunswick Food Forest Growing Strong Communities

Moreland Primary School
Learning for the Future: Children and the Merri Creek

Seed Swap- Brunswick Library

Permaculture Design Course

The CERES PDC covers the whole design course curriculum with extra time for urban issues and reading the landscapes of cool temperate south-eastern Australia. This course is a mix of classroom presentations, workshops, design exercises, practical exercises and visits to properties to see Permaculture in action as well as a catered weekend away. 

Wednesday 1st August 2018

Course Length: 15 Wednesday evenings 6.30pm – 9.30pm
Some Saturdays and Sundays 9.30am – 5pm

 

The course content and approaches to teaching and learning is directed by a group of leading PDC teachers and practitioners. This 100 hour course is delivered by a range of professional, practicing permaculturists including David Holmgren, Joel Meadows and Earthcare Permaculture’s Graeme George.

https://ceres.org.au/education/courses/permaculture-design-course/

Cost: $1895 Full fee  | $1775 CERES member/concession 

Location: CERES Community Environment Park

 

Urban Farmer wanted!

Are you passionate about urban farming and community? Want to be a farmer with land to make your own while educating and inspiring others with your passion for sustainable food systems?

CERES is seeking an Urban Farmer to manage two micro enterprises – Honey Lane market garden and Honey Lane eggs. Working with volunteers and students you will engage and educate the wider community about the benefits of urban food production and community food systems.

This opportunity is a dream job for the right person giving you an acre of land to manage for sustainable food production.

About CERES

CERES Community Environment Park is an award‐winning, not-for‐profit, environment park and urban farm located by the Merri Creek in East Brunswick, Melbourne. Once a landfill site and wasteland, today CERES is a thriving, vibrant community.  With over 450,000 visitors a year, CERES is the most visited environmental centre in Australia.

Apply now!

Please visit our website at http://ceres.org.au/about/careers to view the full position description. Applications must be submitted via our website.

Applications must be received by 9am on Monday 16^th July to be considered.

We're looking for someone special to fill some muddy boots!! See job opportunity below:

Community Garden Coordinator – PepperTree Place

·         Part-time (.6 EFT) Maximum Term role until 30/11/2018

·         Based in Coburg

·         Applications Close: Tuesday 10 July 2018, 12pm

https://www.jobseeker.org.au/job/51218-community-garden-coordinator-%E2%80%93-peppertree-place

Free Winter Planting Workshop at BNH Community Garden

Get ready for Winter in your garden with this awesome, free workshop!

Saturday 7th July

Brunswick Neighbourhood House Community Garden

All welcome but please book!

phone: 9386 9418  
email: info@bnhc.vic.edu.au 

www.bnhc.vic.edu.au

Many thanks to Bunnings Brunswick for sponsoring this workshop

Peppertree Open Gate in June

Peppertree Place Open Gate Saturdays in June from 1oam

23rd June: Winter Soup Solstice from 10am

Celebrate the midwinter and revel in the knowledge that the planet begins its trek back towards warmth and longer days. 

Solstice signifies a unique annual cycle for many cultures around the world - in the garden world it means the garlic should have been planted by this date; the last succession of peas and broadbeans may have gone in the ground and around this time we get to start thinking about the beginnings of spring - start sorting your tomato seeds out!!

What ever your leaning, its a great time of year for reflecting in the winter dark and shining our rays of internal light, warmth and kindness towards the earth and others.

Ukulele Ewie - 7th July Open Gate from 10am

Catch this fine musician here at Peppertree Place again - we love hearing Uke Ewie, he's one of our favourites.

Thanks to our Amazing Volunteers...

We'd like to acknowledge all the amazing dedication from our many Volunteers who pledge their time to help keep Peppertree alive and thriving! We have trialed opening our gates - Cafe and Nursery every Saturday in June - holding the hands of our newest neighbours the Coburg Farmers Market relocated next door. It's been a big ask of our volunteers and we face a huge challenge to sustain this kind of business - stay tuned...

Sustainable Food Practices In Business Event

This is a special invitation to Moreland food businesses, cafes, restaurants, pubs, food manufacturers and producers.

Reducing C02 in Food Establishments in Moreland.

You may be surprised to learn that Australia's food production, preparation and delivery system is the second largest emitter of greenhouses gases. Australian businesses generate over 12.5 million tonnes of waste each year, almost half of which ends in landfill. Food waste is one of the largest types of commercial waste and more food businesses are helping to combat this environmental issue.

As a community with strong sustainability goals, Moreland City Council have been working together with Moreland Energy Foundation (MEFL) to improve ways in which waste material is managed.

This meet up is free and open to all food establishment owners and employees in Moreland. This is a great opportunity to meet other food business owners, share new ideas, hear from other Moreland businesses and learn about opportunities that work for change and make a difference in building a sustainable Moreland business community.

Hear from Reground a small but fast growing, start-up company that has spent the past couple of years developing and building a recycling collection service for spent coffee grounds. Reground will also talk about their project with Moreland City Council and Moreland cafes: Moreland Ground Coffee Recycling.

Please share this event with your networks.

Light refreshments and drinks will be served.

Inner North Brewing Co., our venue for the event, is a local brewery in Brunswick that is dedicated to helping out the SEEDS communal garden at Malprinka with their spent grain, which is a valuable ingredient for their compost.

Thursday 14 June
6pm - 8pm

Inner North Brewing Co.
10A Russell Street Brunswick

 To register your attendance please click here.

 Places are limited as to venue capacity.

 Limited street parking is available. We encourage all attendees to take public transport or car pool.
 (Brunswick Station is only a 4 minute walk from Inner North Brewing Co.)